The Hon. Chandana Sooriyaarachchi

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Speaker, we are debating the proposal to transfer a Supplementary Sum for the Ministry of Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation.

¶ 02 Opposition Members asked why this was not planned earlier. The reason is the legacy crisis: many foreign-financed projects planned by former administrations stalled when Sri Lanka declared a debt standstill in 2022. Domestic counterpart funds had been allocated, but foreign disbursements ceased. Thus, provisions remained unutilized. Rather than let them idle, we are reallocating to effective uses, including reducing the RDA’s domestic bank debt (about Rs. 310,639 million outstanding as of 31.07.2025) using part of this Supplementary Sum.

¶ 03 This situation arises from the prior lack of fiscal discipline and the 2022 default. We are now restoring stability with sound policy and prudent financial management—redirecting funds to productive projects and debt reduction to ultimately provide relief to the public.

¶ 04 A clear example of past failure: the BIA Terminal 2 project, initiated under former President Ranil Wickremesinghe. Due to allegations and mismanagement, it stalled; we now face about Rs. 60 billion in delay costs without progress. Such failures led to today’s burdens. The present Government is stabilizing the economy and instituting fiscal discipline to move the country forward.

¶ 05 We therefore seek the House’s approval for this Supplementary Sum to reallocate unutilized funds productively and to lower costly domestic debt.