Soaring oil prices forecasted to cost Sri Lanka US$ 2.2 bn in 2006

Runaway global oil prices is expected to cost Sri Lanka 2,250 million dollars this year, the government said Wednesday, in a broad hint that a retail fuel price revision was around the corner.

“With the ever increasing oil prices, Sri Lanka’s total oil import bill would be around 2.2 billion dollars,” the ministry said. “This is a loss of foreign exchange which could be used to provide basic infrastructure.”

“This vast amount of resources would be equivalent to the total cost required to build the Colombo-Katunayake expressway or the Matara-Kataragama railway line.

Lanka Business