A leading bunker supplier in Sri Lanka is predicting a surge in demand following the end of the country’s 25-year civil war.

"With war risk gone, we expect more activities in the Colombo port," Lanka IOC’s Managing Director K.R. Suresh Kumar told Reuters in an interview.

"Bunker potential in Colombo port is 25,000 metric tonnes (mt) per month. We expect this to go up to 40,000 mt and we could get more volume."

Lanka IOC, a unit of India’s largest oil refiner, is a major player in Sri Lanka’s energy market.

Some analysts estimate that Lanka IOC holds more than 30% of the country's bunker sales.

The market was opened to renewed competition last year after a court overturned the privatisation of state-owned bunkering assets which had resulted in an effective monopoly.

In remarks to Bloomberg, Kumar said: “Now that the war is over, the focus is on economic prosperity and growth.”

He said Lanka IOC planned to spend $30 million to double the number of its retail outlets in Sri Lanka’s inland market to meet an expected rise in demand for diesel and gasoline.

The Sri Lankan government has declared victory over rebels of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and is seeking investment to boost the economy.

Together with Lanka Marine Service (Pvt) Limited (LMS) and Lanka Maritime Services Ltd., Lanka IOC is one of three leading suppliers in Colombo, Sri Lanka’s major port and bunkering centre.

Lanka IOC says on its website that it also supplies in the Sri Lankan ports of Galle and Trincomalee.

Bunkerworld last month reported similar predictions for growth, following the end of fighting in the civil war.

They said ending the conflict would give shipping companies more confidence to use the country’s ports.

Kumar took over as the Managing Director of Lanka IOC in December.