Chairman of Laugfs Gas W.K.H. Wegapitiya speaking to media today (03) emphasised that his company can solve the ongoing gas crisis in a matter of two weeks, had the government solved the dollar deficit in the country.
Revealing that Laugfs’ infrastructure is capable of supplying gas cylinders meeting the national demand, Wegapitiya requested the government to solve the dollar deficit enabling the opening of letters of credit (LC).
The main reason for the ongoing gas crisis is the commercial banks’ unwillingness to open letters of credit due to the dollar deficit, he said.
Although 40,000 – 50,000 gas cylinders were issued on a daily basis earlier, there is a drop in the figure in the implementation of the recommendations of the Judiciary, the Standards Institution (SLSI) and the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA), leading to a daily distribution of about 10,000 – 15,000 gas cylinders, he added.
Wegapitiya went on saying that they had warned the authorities from the beginning that the people could be facing difficulties in purchasing gas and that their request to increase the price of gas in compliance with the global market under a price formula had been denied by the CAA.
The price hike has taken about a year and a half and therefore, the cost to the companies would have gone up drastically, he added.
MIAP