Sri Lanka explores options for national carrier, SriLankan Airlines
The Morning: Sri Lanka’s new government has informed the newly appointed Board of Directors at SriLankan Airlines to conduct a study on whether the airline needs private sector investments for future operations, Finance and Planning Deputy Minister Dr. Harshana Suriyapperuma.
Speaking at Parliament on Tuesday (21), he said that it is not the policy of the current government to sell loss-making state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and that the government is looking for other alternatives.
He said that the government has appointed a new board of directors to the SriLankan Airlines and asked to conduct an initial study to see how it can be managed efficiently.
“After the initial study, we have informed the board of directors to inform us what the plan for the future is- whether we should be calling in for private sector investments or go for public private partnerships (PPPs),” Suriyapperuma added.
According to him, the airline has made a loss of Rs. 73.26 billion in the 2022/23 financial year and Rs. 3.8 billion profits after tax in the 2023/24 financial year.
Earlier this month, SriLankan Airlines Chairperson Sarath Ganegoda told reporters that it has developed a new five-year corporate plan after the government abandoned ambitions last year to sell a majority stake in the flag carrier.
He said the plan, which follows on from a five-year plan released in 2019, focuses on operational efficiency, financial sustainability, and customer satisfaction, while also looking into expanding the fleet.
Ganegoda said the carrier will soon add three new aircraft to its fleet and that it needs 27 aircraft to meet its operational requirements.
OSL take:
Sri Lanka’s SOEs reforms programme aimed as part of the country’s economic recovery programme has presented new business/investment opportunities. It is in such a backdrop that reforming the national carrier has presented a lucrative business/investment opportunity for foreign businesses/investors on the lookout for lucrative opportunities in the region, especially in Sri Lanka. The country’s steadily growing tourism industry and the increase in air traffic resulting in the expansion of Sri Lanka’s airport and aviation sectors indicate the increasing business potential in these sectors as well. The increase in the number of flights operated by international airlines to Sri Lanka indicates the growing business potential in the local aviation industry and the growing tourism industry indicates the increasing potential in expanding Sri Lanka’s civil aviation industry. All these developments indicate the business/investment opportunities in the country’s national carrier, SriLankan Airlines. An investment in SriLankan Airlines could therefore provide business/investment opportunities in international and domestic aviation services. Foreign businesses/investors could therefore confidently explore the growing business/investment opportunities in Sri Lanka’s SOEs restructuring programme, especially in the restructuring of SriLankan Airlines.
Article Code : | VBS/AT/20250127/Z_2 |