Courtesy NewsIn.Asia

Colombo, Nov 21 (NewsWire) – The Government has decided to obtain an emergency loan of US$ 500 million from India to import fuel, which has become a serious crisis at the moment, Lankadeepa Newspaper reports.

A senior government minister has told Lankadeepa that top government leaders have already begun discussions with the Indian government on this regard.

The Petroleum Corporation is facing a crisis due to the shortage of foreign reserves and are reportedly having a difficult time finding the required amount of US dollars for fuel imports.

The Sapugaskanda oil refinery was shut down last week due to the lack of dollars for crude oil imports, and a date for its reopening has not yet been announced yet.

Meanwhile, Minister of Energy Udaya Gammanpila has stated at the cabinet meeting last Monday that monthly US$ 350 million is needed to import fuel and it has become a real issue to find money for this purpose.

Considering this situation, the government has decided to obtain an emergency loan of US$ 500 million from India for fuel imports, Lankadeepa added.