AFP, Colombo :
Sri Lanka said Thursday it will reduce its foreign debt by $1 billion by selling off former strongman president Mahinda Rajapakse’s vanity projects. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told parliament he wanted to privatise a $1.3 billion port and a $210 million airport in Rajapakse’s home constituency which have become huge white elephants.
“By turning the debt into equity and forming a public-private partnership to run the airport and the harbour, we will reduce our foreign debt by a billion dollars,” Wickremesinghe said.
He did not disclose whether any investors had been lined up for the facilities in Rajapakse’s home constituency of Hambantota in the island’s deep south, which were built with Chinese loans and named after the former leader.
Sri Lanka said Thursday it will reduce its foreign debt by $1 billion by selling off former strongman president Mahinda Rajapakse’s vanity projects. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told parliament he wanted to privatise a $1.3 billion port and a $210 million airport in Rajapakse’s home constituency which have become huge white elephants.
“By turning the debt into equity and forming a public-private partnership to run the airport and the harbour, we will reduce our foreign debt by a billion dollars,” Wickremesinghe said.
He did not disclose whether any investors had been lined up for the facilities in Rajapakse’s home constituency of Hambantota in the island’s deep south, which were built with Chinese loans and named after the former leader.
