The Hon. Bimal Rathnayake - Minister of Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation and Leader of the House of Parliament
The Minister responded to remarks by Hon. Ponnambalam, stating that the Government has decided to develop Palaly International Airport with budgetary allocations and procurement procedures in place, including runway improvements, a temporary shelter, and a planned terminal. He also said a report and committee process, involving ONUR and the Justice Minister, are addressing the Thayyiddy Vihara issue, with a solution expected within weeks.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, the Hon. Ponnambalam referred to me and made an incorrect statement. Please allow me a minute.
¶ 02 First, we have decided to develop Palaly International Airport and have made the necessary budgetary allocations, following procurement guidelines. When I visited Palaly, there wasn’t even a place to sit or drink water; we have already built a temporary shelter, are improving parts of the runway, and will construct a terminal. So, there is no reason for the Hon. Member’s alarm.
¶ 03 Second, regarding Thayyiddy Vihara, together with ONUR and the Justice Minister, a complete report has been prepared; a committee has met. Religious issues must be resolved prudently; we aim to provide a solution within weeks.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Thursday, 9 October 2025 ·No. 22973 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. Bimal Rathnayake - Minister of Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation and Leader of the House of Parliament. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 9 October 2025. No. 22973. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/7665