The Road Development Authority (RDA) has issued a direction to Litro Gas Lanka Ltd., requesting the company to commence operation of the fuel station located on the Southern Expressway by next month.
Chairman of the RDA, Nihal Suriyaarachchi told the Sunday Observer that the RDA is expecting Litro to commence operations accordingly.
Although the the construction work of the fuel station was completed by 2013, it has failed to commence operations.
According to Suriyaarachchi, the delay was due to a number of safety concerns at the site.
“For example there is a high voltage power line over the gas station,” he said, adding that Litro was instructed to rectify these safety issues. According to him after these issues are rectified, the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) can provide Litro the clearance to commence operations.
However, Litro claims that all issues have now been rectified. According to Director of Sales and Marketing of Litro Gas, Chaminda Ediriwickrama, the CPC has been informed of the steps taken by Litro to rectify the issue. “We have informed them and are hopeful we can obtain at least a temporary licence to operate,” he said, adding that operations can commence within days if the necessary clearance is obtained.
Nevertheless, commenting on the issue, Deputy General Manager, Marketing of CPC, Krishantha Wickramasinghe denied being informed by Litro of any rectifications done by them.
According to him, Litro has so far failed to respond to the letter sent by CPC over a month ago thus further delaying the licensing process. “After they get back to us there will be no issue in the CPC giving them the necessary approvals,” he said, adding that how fast the operations can commence lies completely in the hands of Litro.