• It has already been leased out to India 
• JVP alleges that plans were in place to lease out the Trincomalee port, the oil tank farm, and a landmass of 33,000 hectares in extent to the U.S.

Energy Minister Udaya Gammanpila yesterday ruled out the possibility to lease out the Trincomalee oil tank farm to another country since it was given on lease in 2003 by the then UNP government to India for 38 years. 

He said the lease agreement would end only in 2038. He was responding to allegations by JVP member Wasantha Samarasinghe who alleged that plans were in place to lease out the Trincomalee port, the oil tank farm, and a landmass of 33,000 hectares in extent to the U.S. “It is farcical. I have not submitted such a Cabinet paper. I challenge him,” he said. He said he, as the Energy Minister, could not submit any paper to the Cabinet on the lease out of the port. “It is the port minister who should do it. I regret Mr. Samarasinghe does not know it,” he said. He said, “It is yet another typical blatant lie by the JVP. The JVP lied to people saying that the amount of money spent on the expressways was sufficient to pave them with gold.

In another instance, they said no ship could be berthed at the Hambantota port. In the third lie, the JVP said the entire stock of stones in Sri Lanka would be exhausted because of the port city project. Mr. Samarasinghe’s latest fabrication has added to the list of damned JVP lies,” he said.