Committee appointed to restructure Sri Lankan airlines hands over report to President

The Committee appointed by President Maithripala Sirisena on the restructuring of Sri Lanka’s national carrier, Sri Lankan Airlines, presented its report with recommendations for its restructuring to the President at the Presidential Secretariat yesterday.

The 12-member Committee headed by State Minister of Finance Eran Wickramaratne was appointed by the President on 7 January to obtain ideas and suggestions needed to restructure the national carrier and make recommendations.

The report made recommendations on three sections – liquidation and reestablishment of the institution, the management agreement, and the debt restructuring and the capital generation. Expressing his views, State Minister Wickramaratne pointed out that at this stage, it is more appropriate to focus on the third aspect of debt restructuring and capital generation.

Under the restructuring of the state-owned institution, the Committee recommended focusing attention on identifying an independent board of directors and management, revision of project models, restructuring of human resources, providing an independent procurement process, and looking for cooperation in brand promotion.

The Committee Report was presented to the President by State Minister Wickramaratne, and other members of the Committee including Non-Cabinet Minister Dr. Harsha De Silva were also present.

The President thanked all members of the Committee for taking action to hand over the Committee Report according to the timetable.

State Minister of Finance Eran Wickramaratne chaired the Committee while the members include Non-Cabinet Minister Dr. Harsha de Silva, Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe, Dr. Dharmarathna Herath, Prof. D.B.P.H. Disa Bandara, V. Kanagasabhapathi, L.S.I. Jayaratne, Viraj Dayaratne, Mahen Gopallawa, Wasantha Kumarasiri, Ajith Amarasekara and Thisuri Wanniarachchi.