News

National carrier Sri Lankan Airlines will be recording a recovery to pre-pandemic revenue levels by the end of this year as the government is expected to relax air travel restrictions, chairman of the airline, Ashok Pathirage revealed.

The state-owned airline's revenue would recover to 75-80 per cent of pre-crisis levels by end 2021 as the island plans to reopen its international airports fully for travellers soon.

The national carrier plans to return to profitability by 2022 with the gradual improvement in aviation, travel and tourism," he said.

Sri Lanka's government has pledged USD 500 million in financial aid, of which USD 150m was disbursed this month to help its flag carrier weather the crisis, Pathirage said, adding that the rest of the funds will be disbursed over two years.

SriLankan Airlines, which recorded about USD 70m a month in revenue pre-crisis, is currently making about 30% - 35% of that, the chairman said.

He expects a recovery to 40% of pre-Covid revenue levels soon on higher demand for repatriation flights and air cargo.

SriLankan Airlines is currently operating a limited number of passenger flights using 70% of its all-Airbus fleet of A330s, A320s and A321s, while the remaining 30% of aircrafts are still grounded.

To preserve cash and control costs, the airline re-negotiated its aircraft leasing contracts, leading to savings of about USD 150m over the next five years, the chairman said.

The carrier offered 500 employees a voluntary retirement scheme a week ago, after ending the use of outsourced and contract workers, he said. This will reduce the workforce to 5,000 from 7,000.

"After Covid, SriLankan Airlines will be in much better shape to return to profitability," he said, adding that "Our plan is to make money by 2022."

The operator is planning new routes next year to Sydney, Seoul, Kathmandu and European cities, the chairman said. It is seeking to resume flights into India, one of its key markets, and increase frequencies to Dhaka.

In terms of cargo, the airline is seeking to triple or quadruple its freight volumes over the next two years to reduce reliance on passenger operations, Pathirage said.

To drive its cargo expansion, the airline is preparing a request for proposals (RFP) to procure its first two freighters, he added.

The Sri Lanka government is now facing a daunting task of preventing the passing of a resolution against the island nation by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) within five days in Geneva, Foreign Ministry sources said.

The Women Parliamentarians Caucus has decided to request the Speaker to establish a Parliamentary Committee to inquire into the injustice and malpractices taking place against women in Sri Lanka. This was revealed by the chairperson of the Women Parliamentarians Caucus, State Minister of Primary Health Care, Epidemics and COVID-19 Control Dr. Sudarshini Fernandopulle, in Parliament on Thursday (18).

With the approval of the Speaker, the establishment of this Committee is expected to be announced on March 09 in line with the International Women's Day, the chairperson said.

The Chairperson pointed out the need for a Parliamentary Committee with full powers to investigate various forms of violence, discrimination against women, as well as the impediments pertaining to the women in their profession.

Although it is said that women are treated equally, the MPs pointed out that being a woman is discriminated against in various spheres of society and this committee will be able to overcome the obstacles of progress on the basis of women's skills, abilities and qualifications. The specialty of this committee is that it consists of both female and male members.

Minister (Dr.) Sudarshani Fernandopulle, State Minister (Dr.) Seetha Arambepola, MPs Rohini Wijeratne, (Dr.) Harini Amarasuriya and a number of female Members of Parliament as well as the Deputy Secretary General and Chief of Staff of the Parliament Kushani Rohanadheera were also present at the meeting.

Sri Lanka will be taking all efforts to resurrect the country’s ailing tourism industry affected by Covid-19 pandemic in two waves of consecutive contagions.

The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) has declined the invitation to receive the Covid-19 vaccine that was extended to all parliamentarians. JVP Propaganda Secretary Vijitha Herath addressing an event in Kurunegala said that their MPs will get the vaccines only after the entire public has been completely vaccinated.

"We are not prepared to come only when the vaccine is given to the 225 parliamentarians. First ensure that the public is vaccinated. We can come after that, " Herath said.

The JVP also questioned the preferential treatment meted out to parliamentarians over groups that come into constant contact with the public such as health workers, security forces and teachers who face a bigger threat of contracting Covid-19 than any parliamentarian.

Despite vehement protests the Sri Lankan government is adamant in handing over the three power projects to China on islands in the sea close to the Indian coast.

A Sri Lankan newspaper said that the move may also have been an effort to ensure Imran Khan isn't granted parity with Prime Minister Narendra Modi who had addressed the country's Parliament in 2015.

Khan, who will be the first head of state to visit the country since the Covid-19 pandemic, is scheduled to arrive in Colombo on February 23.

 Last week, he welcomed Sri Lanka’s assurance on the burial of Muslim Coronavirus victims.

Despite the pledge, the government has continued to forcibly cremate Muslims and is backtracking by claiming the policy can only be changed following deliberations by an expert committee.

Cabinet Co-Spokesman and Energy Minister Udaya Gammanpila told reporters that Premier Mahinda Rajapaksa had only stated his personal view in Parliament last week and any policy decision could only be made by the Director General of Health Services (DGHS).

The power purchase agreement will be signed by the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) and Lakdhanavi (Pvt) Ltd.
 
“The power purchase agreement of 300 MW Kerawalapitiya LNG approved by the PUCSL will be implemented with conditions more favourable to the electricity consumer, the CEB and the government. The PUCSL recommended the inclusion of 18 amendments which were not included in the previous power purchase agreement submitted for approval, and the CEB and Lakdanavi have agreed to include those favourable terms," Janaka Ratnayake, the Chairman of PUCSL said.

"Accordingly, the agreement approved by the PUCSL is more favourable to the consumers, the Government and the Ceylon Electricity Board," he said, adding that the CEB will purchase electricity for 20 years under this agreement,” he said.

The unit price of electricity supplied by this power plant is LKR 14.98. Both diesel and LNG fuels can be used to generate electricity, and the initial phase of generation will continue to use diesel fuel until LNG or natural gas supply begins.

The CEB sought the approval of the PUCSL for the tendering of this LNG power plant on November 15, 2016, and the PUCSL approved the process within two days.

The CEB is responsible for selecting the most suitable party to build this power plant through a tendering process and it has taken about 4 years to complete the tender process for this power plant.

Following the completion of the tender process and the selection of the eligible party, the relevant purchase agreement was submitted for the approval of the PUCSL on October 9, 2020, by CEB.  

However, it was revealed that there were discrepancies between the new agreement submitted by the CEB and the original agreement approved by the PUCSL.

In particular, the 18 amendments contained in the original agreement were not included in the final agreement submitted for approval.

The PUCSL recommended to the CEB to re-include these conditions in the agreement as the removal of these conditions will be detrimental to the consumer, the government and the CEB.

Subject to those amendments, conditional approval for the final agreement was granted on November 25, 2020.

Following the recommendations of the PUCSL, the CEB amended the final agreement and submitted the final agreement for the purchase of electricity on December 1, 2020, for approval.  

However, by the time of the submission of the final agreement, the then members of the Commission had resigned from their posts.

The new members were appointed to the Commission in the first week of February 2021 and at the first meeting of the new board, final approval was given for the 300 MW LNG power plant agreement.

“The PUCSL expects the CEB will take actions to expedite the construction of this 300 MW LNG power plant to cater to the country’s electricity demand,” Ratnayake added

Defense Secretary General (Retd) Kamal Gunaratne has accepted that the country is in the midst of an environmental crisis.

Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi on Sunday said his government has always taken care of the welfare of Sri Lankan Tamils and ‘‘consistently’’ flagged the issue of their rights with the leaders in the island nation.