The world's largest refiner, China's Sinopec plans to start work on a refinery in Sri Lanka by June, the power minister said last Thursday.
Officials of Sinopec Overseas Investment Holding were visiting Colombo for talks with Sri Lankan authorities.
"The officials indicated that the management of Sinopec has decided to double the capacity of the refinery from the original proposal," the minister, Kanchana Wijesekera, wrote on social media platform X.
Officials of the Sinopec Overseas Investment Holding Pvt Ltd (SOIHL) visited the Ministry of Power & Energy yesterday.
The officials led by Vice President of SOIHL, updated on the progress of the negotiations with stakeholders for the construction of the Proposed New Refinery… pic.twitter.com/HqoYVYgT0M
— Kanchana Wijesekera (@kanchana_wij) March 28, 2024
"They intend to sign the agreements for the project and commence work by June 2024."
Sri Lanka's cabinet approved the project in November, an investment that Wijesekera has earlier tagged at $4.5 billion.
China is Sri Lanka's biggest two-way lender, with its companies building highways, sea and air ports and other infrastructure on the island.
The investment by Sinopec, one of the largest producers of petrochemicals, is part of an effort to expand beyond China, in which it has acquired refinery assets in Saudi Arabia and petrochemicals production in Russia.
Iran built Sri Lanka's only refinery at Sapugaskanda in the western region in 1969. It can process 38,000 barrels of crude a day.
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