The Hon. Ravi Karunanayake

¶ 01 Madam Presiding Member, the world is moving through uncertainty. Our task is to chart how Sri Lanka responds—whether we let others set the agenda or we secure our small nation and move forward.

¶ 02 Every dark cloud has a silver lining. Those in Government now acknowledge we must work together—a position we in Opposition have consistently advocated. I welcome the Minister of Energy’s call for unity.

¶ 03 There are controllable and uncontrollable factors. Let us address what we can control—energy security: power generation and distribution. In May 2022, when the crisis peaked, then-Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had to act without dollars, with a collapsed economy and no parliamentary authorization for needed measures; the Central Bank declared a standstill without parliamentary cover. With only USD 25 million available, we decided to open fuel supply—beyond CPC and IOC—bringing in RM Parks, Shell PLC, Sinopec and others.

¶ 04 The President noted today that with multiple suppliers, uniform administered pricing becomes difficult. But opening supply introduces competition; Government need not carry all the weight. Competing importers prevent black markets and benefit consumers. CPC prices are not necessarily lower merely because CPC is State-owned; administrative overheads can inflate costs. IOC’s profitability stems from leaner overheads. With Shell, Sinopec, IOC scaling up imports, competition will quickly align prices.

¶ 05 On electricity: regardless of difficulties, the Minister shows forward thinking. But most problems arise from bureaucracy. The Minister must push past bad briefs. We must allow private sector generation under competitive conditions and scale up renewables with Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS). Although 200 MW of renewables has been added, momentum has been stymied by the oil mafia for two decades. This needs a long-term plan that outlasts vested interests.

¶ 06 Curtailment of solar—despite about 2,300 MW of potential—should stop immediately. Also, in bunkering, Lanka Marine Services and Interocean sell at Rs. 600 per litre while landed costs are around Rs. 370–380, plus 18% VAT. With competition, such margins would normalize. CPC shouldn’t bear this alone; open bunkering to the four suppliers as well.

¶ 07 Legacy CPC debt was addressed by Ranil Wickremesinghe—about 85% repaid. Today CPC profits; the issue is resolved. Let’s unite to solve the remaining energy security challenges.

¶ 08 Sri Lanka’s geography makes us a maritime hub. Lalith Athulathmudali’s vision made Colombo a main transshipment port; today it ranks around 18th globally. With Middle Eastern instability likely to persist beyond any quick ceasefire, we must seize the moment.

¶ 09 Congestion leads ships to bypass Colombo. We can fix this by establishing dry ports using existing rail corridors and state lands: 40 acres at Ratmalana (Railways), 48 acres at SLBC, 48 at Yattayanagoda, 53 at Polgahawela. Using rail tracks, container yards can move volumes inland without heavy new infrastructure. The Port currently has about 120,000 TEUs in-yard; a dry port could handle 250,000 TEUs, easing congestion. The Ports Chairman, Mr. Dissanayake, and the DG of Customs, Mr. Arukgoda, are capable—use their expertise and implement a dry port concept through SLPA quickly.

¶ 10 On Mattala Airport: about Rs. 43 billion has been spent; annual recurrent losses exceed Rs. 3.8–4.2 billion. Turn it into a Middle East diversion and operations hub immediately. Invite Emirates, Etihad, Qatar Airways, Oman Air, SalamAir, Kuwait Airways, Gulf Air, Air Arabia. Offer free ground handling initially. This will boost hotel occupancy and generate navigation and overflying revenues. Typical landing and handling fees can be calibrated to attract traffic quickly given reduced schedules out of Doha/Muscat.

¶ 11 Please act now. As Opposition, we are ready with a practical plan and to work with Government—not to grandstand or block dollars. The country comes first. Let us work together to develop Sri Lanka.

¶ 12 Thank you.