Sri Lanka starts work on $4 billion refinery

HANBANTOTA: Sri Lanka began construction on Sunday of a nearly $4 billion oil refinery it hopes will revive foreign interest in its shipping facilities after Beijing’s takeover of a nearby port spooked international investors.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said Hambantota, a district in Sri Lanka’s south which lies on one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, would become a global investment hub with the addition of the oil refinery and storage complex.

The $3.85 billion project is the single largest foreign investment in Sri Lanka’s history. It is jointly funded by Oman and Singapore-registered Silver Park International, a company owned by an Indian business family.