Cabinet approves US$ 175 Million for National Carrier
Cabinet has approved US$ 175 million to be obtained from Credit Suisse to give a much-needed lifeline to the cash-strapped, ailing national carrier SriLankan Airlines, State Minister of Public Enterprise Development, Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena said.
Addressing the Media at the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) head office yesterday (26), the State Minister noted that the US$ 50 million of that amount was a short-term loan.
The State Minister, responding to a question raised by a journalist about the crisis at SriLankan Airlines, said a new Board of Directors will be appointed soon.
Elaborating, he further said, “Cabinet granted approval to obtain this loan because SriLankan could use it to ease the crisis situation it was facing. SriLankan should be run in a way that it incurs minimum losses. No airline service in the world receives a profit by only delivering primary services.”
Therefore, SriLankan should focus on developing its sub-services and then it will reduce losses like other main airline services in the world, Abeywardena pointed out.
“President Maithripala Sirisena has decided to appoint a presidential commission to probe the internal issues which have resulted in the financial crises at Mihin Air and SriLankan Airlines. He is on a firm stance to carry out this investigation in a transparent manner. We hope that vital information regarding the crisis situations in both Airlines will be revealed during the Presidential Commission’s investigations,” he explained. It is reported that the SriLankan has made a staggering loss of nearly Rs 40 billion after 2015, mainly due to mismanagement.
(Source: Ceylon Today – By Methmalie Dissanayake)
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This USD 175mn will be quickly eaten by the Directors in including Chairman D**s and Managing D, Ratu**te, who have already resigned.
The Lilly-White is appointing a Commission in Jan 2018; this Commission, like the Bond Commission, will expose who ate what.
Dear Eardley.
You have hit the nail on the head. USD 175M? Is that money already in a Foreign Account of Arjun M/Perpetual Treasuries/Aloysius Mudalali?
Mate Eardley, the rate money is being stolen astounds me.
We see PM accepting big cheque for USD 300mn; where did this cheque go? Nobody knows mate.
There was also another Chinese Cheque for USD 290mn for selling Rajapaksa Harbour in Hambantota to the Chinks?
Where did this cheque go? Lilly-White’s SIL’s account in Ukraine?
Mate Eardley, we have a stupid and clueless “Professor” as Central Bank Boss. The (stupid) fellow does not know what’s going on. He is apparently senile.
why should the air lanka deal in dollars. sri lankans travelling abroad ought to pay their air fares in dallars and the deal to allow lankans and those travelling foreign exchange allowed be capped at $500 and not tousands as is the practise current and limited to those paying taxes. this would limit the drain of foreign exchange raised to run the @#$! airline which has been running at monumental lsses since inception whi may account for billions of dollars.
the central bank with its army of workers cannot come up with anything meaninful in contraol of foregn exchange and fraudulent private bank operations they ought to shut shop and allow the provincial gocernment to run these operations o profit basis