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Udaya challenges NPP claims on mega Indian and China projects

Published

11 months ago

2025/01/22

Gammanpila holds a book published by the Energy Ministry during his tenure as the Energy Minister. The book dealt with the agreement signed with India on January 06, 2022, to jointly develop a section of the Trinco oil tank farm. Gammanpila called a press conference at the PHU office to explain his stand on the Trinco project.

“Don’t seek to capitalise on our achievements’

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU) leader Udaya Gammanpila said that he was delighted that the National People’s Power (NPP) government had decided to go ahead with the Trincomalee Oil Tank Farm development project agreement inked during President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s presidency.

The former Energy Minister said so in response to The Island query regarding President Anura Kumara Dissanyake’s declaration at a public rally held at Katukurunda that 61 out of the 99 oil storage tanks would be jointly developed. The President sought credit for the project implying that his recent state visit to New Delhi facilitated it, former lawmaker Gammanpila said.

Declaring that the agreement on the Trincomalee oil tank farm had been signed on January 06, 2022, Attorney-at-Law Gammanpila emphasized that it was tabled in Parliament on Feb 08, 2022. The signatories to the agreement were Sri Lanka, Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC), Lanka IOC and the subsidiary company Trinco Petroleum Terminal Pvt. Ltd., of which CPC retained 51% and Lanka IOC 49%. President Dissanayake, who had been the leader of a three-member NPP ministerial delegation that made a state visit to India last month, couldn’t be unaware of the agreement that was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers on January 03, 2022, in the run-up to the eruption of public protest campaign demanding President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s ouster, the PHU leader said.

Having been severely critical of the then government’s plans, it would be unfair of the NPP leader ,who is also the leader of the JVP, to take credit for this strategically important Trinco project.

The ex-MP stressed that Lanka IOC is a subsidiary of Indian Oil Corporation which is under the ownership of that country’s Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

Alleging that the NPP has nothing to do with the Trinco project, the ex-Energy Minister said that in terms of the agreement that covered lower and upper sections of the oil tank farm – consisting of 99 tanks – 14 tanks were further leased to Lanka IOC, 24 tanks to the CPC and the rest to be jointly developed by India and Sri Lanka.

Of the 24 tanks allocated to CPC, five had been already renovated, the PHU chief said, adding that Sri Lanka and India first covered the Trinco oil tank farm in an agreement at the time of the Indo-Lanka Accord that was forced on President J.R. Jayewardene. Since then there had been a couple of agreements that dealt with the British built Trinco oil tank farm targeted by a Japanese naval task force during the Second World War. Of the 100-tank facility, only one was hit.

The PHU leader said that President Dissanayake also claimed credit for securing, what his media division dubbed, the single largest foreign direct investment worth USD 3.7 bn on a state-of-the-art oil refinery at Mirijjawila, Hambantota, whereas the actual agreement was finalized in Nov. 2023 during Ranil Wickremesinghe’s presidency. SLPP’s Kanchana Wijesekera served as the Energy Minister at that time.

The former Minister urged the NPP to accept the truth. Having repeatedly accusing the previous governments of selling national assets to India, the NPP now pursued the same policy, Gammanpila said, declaring the NPP took the electorate for a mega ride. The NPP had been badly exposed and humiliated in the eyes of the public who really believed their catchy and often touted vow to change the system.

The former Minister said that President Dissanayake’s state visits to New Delhi and Beijing advanced the agendas that had been previously agreed. “That is the truth the NPP is reluctant to accept. The NPP claims on Trinco oil tank farm and Mirijjiwila oil refinery proved beyond doubt that previously agreed projects were continuing,” ex-lawmaker Gammanpila said.

Contrary to routine criticism of the IMF, the NPP leadership faithfully followed the IMF agenda as agreed during the Wickremesinghe-Rajapaksa administration, the lawyer said, reminding the NPP conveniently refrained from opposing the Economic Transformation Bill that received parliamentary approval during Wickremesinghe’s presidency.

Gammanpila said that essentially the NPP’s overall policies were the same. There couldn’t be better examples than the continuation of the Trinco project inked before Aragalaya and the Mirijjawila project finalised a year after Aragalaya to highlight the NPP’s duplicity, he said.

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Noritake Company Limited donates Rs. 20 million to the Government’s disaster relief programme

Published

60 mins ago

2025/12/19

Priyan

Noritake Company Limited of Japan has donated Rs. 20 million to the Government’s disaster relief programme.

The cheque was presented to Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya by the Managing Director of Noritake Lanka Porcelain (Pvt) Ltd, Mr. Kenji Obara, at the Parliament Complex on 18 December.

Minister of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government Chandana Abeyratne, Director and General Manager of Noritake Lanka Porcelain (Pvt) Ltd, Ms. Sujatha Egodagedara, and Assistant General Manager Captain M. M. Athula Rohan Senarath also participated in the event.

[Prime Minister’s Media Division].

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GovPay Concludes 2025 with Rs. 2 Billion in digital transactions, marking a major milestone in Sri Lanka’s digital transformation

Published

4 hours ago

2025/12/19

Priyan

GovPay, Sri Lanka’s Government Digital Payment Platform concluded the year 2025 by surpassing Rs. 2 billion in total digital transaction value, marking a major milestone in the country’s digital transformation journey. Notably, GovPay doubled its collections from Rs. 1 billion to Rs. 2 billion in just 45 days, reflecting rapid adoption, growing public trust, and strong institutional uptake across the public sector.

Since its official launch on 07 February 2025, GovPay has processed over 69,000 digital transactions, enabling payments for 3,372 government services across 215 government institutions. This accelerated growth underscores the increasing reliance on secure, convenient, and transparent digital payment mechanisms by both citizens and government institutions.

Implemented under the strategic leadership of the Ministry of Digital Economy, the Information Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) in collaboration with LankaPay, GovPay has emerged as a key pillar of Sri Lanka’s national digital public infrastructure. The platform plays a critical role in advancing financial inclusion, improving service efficiency, and strengthening transparency in public service delivery.

A key milestone in 2025 was the launch of the Online Traffic Fine Payment System through GovPay on 10 April 2025. Since its introduction, the system has facilitated over 50,000 digital traffic fine payments, generating more than Rs. 66 million in revenue. The service is currently operational across the Western, Southern, Northern, North Western, and North Central Provinces, including the Southern, Katunayake, and Central Expressways. While the island wide rollout planned for December 2025 was postponed due to adverse weather conditions and disaster-related challenges, ICTA, in coordination with the Sri Lanka Police and with the support of LankaPay, has agreed to complete the nationwide rollout in January 2026, with a landmark launch in the Central Province.

GovPay has continued to expand its reach across local authorities, including Divisional Secretariats, Municipal Councils, Urban Councils, and Pradeshiya Sabhas, significantly enhancing access to government services in citizens’ day-to-day activities. The platform has enabled digital transactions for all local authorities in the Northern Province and all Divisional Secretariats in the Southern Province, with a national target to digitize all local authorities by 2026.

Institutions such as Kotelawala Defence University, Sri Lanka Police, the Department of Technical Education and Training, the University of Moratuwa, and the Sri Lanka Atomic Energy Board emerged as some of the highest contributors to GovPay in 2025. Strong adoption by the education sector in particular highlights the readiness of younger generations to embrace digital transformation and demonstrates the platform’s scalability and reliability.

Beyond routine government services, GovPay also supported national disaster response efforts. Since 30 November 2025, the platform facilitated digital donations to the Rebuild Sri Lanka Disaster Relief Fund, collecting almost Rs. 14 million across 909 transactions, including contributions from Sri Lankans living abroad, ensuring transparency and ease of contribution during a national emergency.

As GovPay continues to grow, ICTA is working on revamping www.govpay.lk with enhanced features to support institutional onboarding, service management, and reporting capabilities. With Rs. 2 billion in digital collections achieved within its first year of operation and the last Rs. 1 billion reached in just 45 days, GovPay stands as a strong testament to the impact of coordinated digital transformation, reinforcing Sri Lanka’s vision of achieving a USD 15 billion digital economy by 2030.

News

Swift restoration of Religious, Cultural and Archaeological sites damaged by the disaster

Published

4 hours ago

2025/12/19

Priyan

A discussion on the restoration of religious, cultural and archaeological sites affected by Cyclone Ditwah was held on Thursday (18) afternoon at the Presidential Secretariat under the patronage of the Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs, Dr. Hiniduma Sunil Senevi, with the participation of the Most Venerable Mahanayaka Theras of the three Chapters and other religious leaders.

Addressing the meeting, the Minister stated that more than one thousand religious, cultural and archaeological sites across the country had sustained damage due to the disaster. He assured that prompt measures would be taken to commence restoration work and reinstate these sites to their original condition without delay.

The Minister further stated that all restoration work is expected to be carried out while preserving the historical and cultural authenticity of the sites, under the guidance of the Most Venerable Maha Sangha and other religious leaders, with the active participation of all relevant stakeholders.

The Secretary to the Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs, Prince Senadheera, noted that arrangements are currently underway to mobilize the required human resources and financial assistance for the restoration process. He also stated that steps have been initiated to recruit the necessary technical officers on a contractual basis to conduct technical assessments of the affected sites. In addition, plans are in place to involve officials of the Ministry as well as officers of its affiliated institutions in carrying out these restoration activities.

The Secretary to the Ministry further stated that generous financial contributions from donors are currently being received to the fund established under the Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs for the reconstruction of damaged religious places of worship.

The meeting also considered continuing the gathering as an interfaith committee to oversee the restoration activities. Accordingly, it was agreed that the progress of construction work would be regularly reported to the committee and that the committee would be entrusted with mobilizing support for the fund in a transparent manner, including assistance from foreign donors, international organizations, Buddhist organizations and other religious institutions.

It was noted that the Central Cultural Fund has identified eight sites that were severely damaged by the disaster and are difficult to restore through conventional construction methods, requiring the specialized expertise of archaeologists, mural conservation specialists, and architects. The cost of restoring these sites has been estimated at over Rs. 500 million.

It was further decided that the committee would meet once a month to review and discuss the progress of these restoration activities.

Religious leaders commended the Government’s intervention in providing relief to those affected by the disaster and in restoring livelihoods, expressing appreciation for the effective management of the response. They also praised the Government’s prompt action in initiating restoration work at damaged religious sites.

The event was attended by several eminent religious leaders, including the Registrar of the Asgiri Maha Viharaya, Venerable Dr. Medagama Dhammananda Nayaka Thero; the Registrar General of the Amarapura Siri Saddhammawansa Maha Nikaya, Venerable Balapitiye Siri Seevali Nayaka Thero; the General Secretary of the Sri Lanka Ramanna Maha Nikaya, Venerable Attangane Sasanarathana Nayaka Thero; the Chief Secretary of the All-Ceylon Shasanarakshaka Board, Venerable Professor Mugunuwela Anuruddha Nayaka Thero; and the Tri-Nikaya Maha Sangha, led by the Chairman of the National Bhikkhu Front, Venerable Wakamulle Uditha Thero.

Also in attendance were Hindu religious leaders, including Venerable Swami Aksharatmananda, representatives of the Catholic Church and the National Christian Council, including Father Alec Roy Samantha Fernando, All-Ceylon Muslim religious leaders, including the General Secretary of the Jamiatul Ulama Organization, Ash-Sheikh Arkam Nooramith, Deputy Minister of Religious and Cultural Affairs, Mohamed Muneer , as well as senior officials of the Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs and relevant line institutions.