Sittwe facing fuel crisis

By DMG 17 Nov 2022

DMG Newsroom
17 November 2022, Sittwe

The Arakan State capital Sittwe has been hit by a fuel crisis as oil tankers heading to Sittwe from Yangon are stranded in Ponnagyun Township, according to local filling stations and residents.

Local filling stations are running out of gasoline, according to manager U Win Naing Htay of the local Htoo filling station. “Oil tankers are stranded since the road was blocked. I heard almost all the filling stations have nearly run out of stocks,” he said.

There are five major filling stations in Sittwe, and DMG reporters noted that all of them were closed on Thursday. The blockade, if maintained, will seriously affect fuel-reliant businesses in Sittwe, he added.

“Large proportions of fuel supplies come by road, and a continued blockade of the road will create challenges for businesses that need fuel for operations. So, we want the road to be reopened as early as possible,” U Win Naing Htay told DMG.

The reference rate set by the regime is K2,230 per litre for 92 Ron Octane; K2,340 for 95 Ron Octane; K2,760 for premium diesel; and K2,835 for diesel, according to junta-controlled newspapers.

As locals can’t buy fuel at filling stations, they have been forced to buy at roadside vendors at higher prices. At the same time, roadside vendors are selling by quota, said autorickshaw driver Ko Aung Hsan Win.

“As all the filling stations are closed, I had to pay K3,500 for a litre of 92 Ron Octane at a roadside vendor. But we couldn’t buy as much as we wanted. They sell by quota,” he said.

The regime blockaded the Yangon-Sittwe road in Ponnagyun after the Arakan Army ambushed a junta convoy between Padetha and Sin Inn Gyi villages in Ponnagyun Township on November 10.