To help alleviate the issue, an Indian company will open 50 petrol stations in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka has given permission for India’s Lanka Indian Oil Corporation (LIOC) to open 50 additional petrol outlets, a company spokesman said on Monday, as part of attempts to alleviate the island nation’s acute shortages.

Sri Lanka is experiencing its greatest financial crisis in more than 70 years, as a lack of foreign cash has left it unable to pay for key imports of food, medicine, and, most importantly, fuel.

LIOC, the island’s smaller member in the gasoline supply duopoly, already has 216 fuel stations and would invest around 2 billion rupees ($5.5 million) in expansion, according to Managing Director Manoj Gupta.

LIOC is an Indian Oil Corporation subsidiary that is traded on the Colombo Stock Exchange.”We’ve been trying for a while to gain this approval, and we’re more than eager to step out and play a larger role in supporting and working with Sri Lanka to tackle its difficulties,” Gupta said.

Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC), the country’s major fuel retailer, maintains approximately 1,190 service stations.LIOC’s retail expansion follows a separate arrangement struck in December to take ownership of 75 oil tanks in a strategically vital storage facility near Trincomalee, Sri Lanka’s eastern port.

In the previous two months, the company has also increased supplies to CPC after Sri Lanka ran out of cash to pay for imports, leaving customers to wait in huge lines, sometimes for days.

This year, India has thrown about $4 billion into its southern neighbor’s economy, through swaps and several credit lines to purchase petroleum, food, and fertiliser.

In addition to seeking aid from China and Japan, Sri Lanka is in talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) about a possible $3 billion rescue package.