Can the fuel quota be increased? : Minister gives update in Parliament

The current fuel quotas cannot be increased due to the foreign exchange crisis which is affecting the importation of fuel to Sri Lanka, Minister of Energy Kanchana Wijesekera informed Parliament today.

He said the ministry expects to increase the fuel quota once the foreign exchange crisis is mitigated to a certain extent.

Data analysis has revealed that Sri Lanka’s daily consumption of fuel is 3000 Metric Tons. 10% of this is being provided by Lanka Indian Oil Company (LIOC), while the remaining 90% is provided by the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC), he said.

The Minister of Energy further said 6.2 million vehicles have registered for the National Fuel Pass thus far.

He revealed that among the registered vehicles 1.1 million are three-wheelers, 3.6 million are motorcycles, and 1.5 million are other vehicles.

The Ministry is currently focussing on normalizing public transportation and has thereby prioritized fuel supply for buses and trains. 

The limited stock of fuel is currently being provided under the present fuel quotas after monitoring and ascertaining the daily consumption of each type of vehicle, he explained. 

The Minister further clarified that an agreement had not been made with three-wheeler Associations to provide 30 litres of fuel per week.

He said a discussion had been held with the Associations with the participation of the Transportation Minister.

The three-wheeler Associations had made a request to increase their fuel quota, but no agreement had been made on the matter. An agreement was only made to look into the possibility of increasing fuel quotas for three-wheelers, he said.

Minister Kanchana Wijesekera further said that specific fuel stations have not been allocated in certain areas to separately provide fuel to three-wheelers. 

Three-wheelers can obtain their necessary fuel at any fuel station in the country as the usual practice. They have only been requested to register their vehicle at their closest Police station and have not been allocated specific fuel stations, he added.

The Minister briefed the Parliament in this regard responding to questions raised by Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa on the fuel quota for three-wheelers.