Hon. (Dr.) Harshana Suriyapperuma - Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning
Hon. (Dr.) Harshana Suriyapperuma stated that the Rs. 20 billion allocated in the Budget for the airline is to address historical liabilities, not operating losses, noting that the airline is currently operating at a profit. He attributed the liabilities to past fraud, corruption, politicisation, and above-market aircraft lease arrangements, some linked to cases before foreign courts. He said the Government’s 2025–2030 plan does not envisage Budget funding for operating expenses and that discussions are under way on foreign-currency debt restructuring to make the airline self-sustaining without imposing future costs on the public.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 As you would note, the Rs. 20 billion allocated in this Budget is not to fund operating losses; the airline is operating at an operating profit. The Rs. 20 billion is due to historical issues, including internationally known fraud and corruption cases linked to aircraft procurement commissions now before foreign courts. Due to such malpractices, leases were obtained above market rates.
¶ 02 Successive governments politicized the airline and burdened it beyond its inefficiencies. Under the present Government’s 2025–2030 plan, as stated by the President in Parliament, there is no expectation to fund operating expenses from the Budget. The airline must be self-sustaining. We are discussing debt restructuring—much of it in foreign currency—so that the burden will not fall on the people going forward.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Tuesday, 25 February 2025 ·No. 1741258607035810 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: Hon. (Dr.) Harshana Suriyapperuma - Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 25 February 2025. No. 1741258607035810. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/26566