News
Cancellation of Japanese projects to be probed
FR petition says govt. deprived itself of USD 8 bn
By Shamindra Ferdinando
Chairperson of the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) Anura Priyadarshana Yapa yesterday (08) said that he would initiate an inquiry into the cancellation of several foreign-funded projects, following the last presidential election, in Nov 2019.
Yapa said so responding to The Island query whether he would act on Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s request for a parliamentary probe into the cancellation of such projects.
Alleging that the unjustifiable government action deprived the country of much needed foreign investment, therefore contributed to the economic meltdown, Premier Wickremesinghe declared that Tokyo was unhappy. The Prime Minister’s Office quoted the UNP leader as having told Parliament on Tuesday: “Japan is our longtime friend. A nation that has helped our country greatly. But they are now unhappy with us due to the unfortunate events of the past. Our country had failed to formally notify Japan of the suspension of certain projects. Sometimes the reasons for these suspensions were not even stated.”
Lawmaker Yapa said that he, too, felt an inquiry was required into the matter.
On the basis of certain reports received from an unidentified person, Premier Wickremesinghe told the House that some of the projects that had been undertaken and partly implemented by Japan were halted midway.
Premier Wickremesinghe wants COPF to investigate cancellation of the Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) projects, undertaken by India and Japan. The Premier has alleged that the CEB halted both projects without at least giving justifiable reasons.
Lawmaker Yapa said that the allegation pertaining to putting on hold, projects funded by Japan, to the tune of USD 3 bn, by 2019, was quite serious.
MEP leader Dinesh Gunawardena served as the Foreign Affairs Minister. Prof. G.L. Peiris succeeded Gunawardena, in August 2021.Former Commander of the Navy Admiral Jayanath Colombage served as Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs till recently.
Legal sources said that cancellation of several high profile foreign funded projects, including the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) project had been cited in a fundamental rights petition, recently filed against the former Finance Ministers, Mahinda Rajapaksa, Basil Rajapaksa and Ali Sabry, other members of the Cabinet, the Monetary Board of the CBSL, former Governors of the CBSL, Prof. W.D. Lakshaman and Ajith Nivard Cabraal, former Finance Secretary S.R. Attygalle, Monetary Board member S.S.W. Kumarasinghe, former Presidential Secretary Dr. P.B. Jayasundera and three Commissioners of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC). Premier Wickremesinghe has been made the first respondent as he is the incumbent Premier.
The petition, filed by Dr. Athulasiri Kumara Samarakoon of the Open University of Sri Lanka, Soosaiappu Neavis Morais and Dr. Mahim Mendis, in terms of Articles 17 and 126 of the Constitution, alleged that after the last presidential election several projects, that had been finalized and would have generated substantial revenue in foreign exchange, were stopped. The petition named the cancelled projects as the Light Rail Project, East Container Terminal (ECT) involving India, and Japan, the Central Highway Phase 3 and 4 with Japan and India, and the MCC Agreement with the US.
The MCC had been among three other agreements sought by the US. The yahapalana government entered into the Access and Cross Servicing Agreement (ACSA) in August 2017. Talks on Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) were stalled.
The petitioners stated that the projects had been done away with on the directives of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Asserting had those agreements were implemented the country wouldn’t have been in the current predicament, the petitioners brought to the notice of the Supreme Court that the first respondent before being appointed as the Premier on May 12 declared the country was deprived of USD 4,000,000,000 due to the cancellation of those projects.
The petitioners further stated that the incumbent dispensation caused the current calamity by turning down of USD 400,000,000 IMF facility.
Authoritative sources said that the government antagonized Japan by not even giving prior notice of the utterly reprehensible decision. Sri Lanka violated diplomatic protocol, sources said, Japan’s unenthusiastic response to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s request for USD 3 bn loan should be examined against the backdrop of our irresponsible conduct, sources said. Japan has advised Sri Lanka that they would consider lending after the government reached agreement with the IMF or get close to the finalization of the required facility.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s Ambassador in Tokyo Sanjiv Gunasekera would leave office on June 15. Gunasekera, a close associate of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, informed the President, on May 09, of his decision to quit on June 09. However, he would continue for a week in view of some official commitments.
The price of oil has fallen to levels not seen since before the Iran war as traffic through the key Strait of Hormuz shipping route gradually resumes.
Global benchmark Brent crude briefly fell below $72.48 (£55) a barrel, the price it was at the day before the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran on 28 February, before edging up to $73.23.
Energy prices have been on a wild ride since Iran responded to the strikes by effectively closing the strait, a critical waterway for oil and gas shipments.
The cost of crude has been moving sharply lower since the US and Iran signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on 17 June which set out a 60-day period for negotiations on Tehran’s nuclear programme and other measures to end the war.
Representatives from the two sides met in Switzerland last weekend for talks to end the war, which resulted in the US partially lifting sanctions on Iranian oil exports.
The number of vessels crossing the Strait of Hormuz has risen significantly since the MOU was signed, according to maritime intelligence firm Kpler.
Its latest data suggests 284 vessels have made the transit from 18 June, the day after the deal was signed, although that is is still well below the pre-conflict average of some 138 crossings each day.
The ships passing through the waterway in recent days include those carrying crude oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG), fertiliser and other goods, Kpler told the BBC.
The US and Iran had also formed a “communication line” to prevent misunderstandings “with the aim of safe passage for commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz”, mediators Qatar and Pakistan said in a joint statement on Monday.
There has been a “tremendous shift” with far more ships using the strait in recent days, said Dimitris Maniatis, the chief executive of Marisks, a maritime risk advisory firm working with ships stuck in the region.
A limited number of ships can cross a northern passageway with the permission of Iranian authorities, he said.
The US navy has also provided guidance for vessels to travel through a southern route that is safe from mines and other obstacles that has been laid out since the war, Maniatis said.
But the number of ships crossing the strait is still below levels seen before the war, when it was used by more than 100 ships a day.
Hundreds of ships still appear to be waiting in the Gulf.
Fuel prices at the pump rose sharply when the Iran war began, and now the focus is on how quickly they will fall.
“On the back of the lowest oil price since before the Iran war started, drivers should see the average price of petrol fall below 150p [a litre] in the next week or so,” said Simon Williams, head of policy at UK motoring group the RAC. He added the price of diesel “ought to go back under 160p.
Petrol peaked at 159.53p a litre on 28 May, according to the RAC, while diesel has fallen from a high of 191.54p on 15 April.
The average price of regular gasoline in the US has dropped to around $3.93 a gallon after reaching $4 a gallon in April, its highest since 2022, but is still well above pre-war levels.
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday ordered an investigation into major energy companies, accusing Shell, ExxonMobil and other firms of “gouging” drivers by not reducing fuel prices even as oil costs fell.
“Oil prices have come down so much and we are not seeing anything at the pump by comparison the way they should be,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
The American Petroleum Institute, which represents the oil and gas industry in the US, said fuel prices “don’t move in lockstep with crude oil”.
British energy firms have faced similar accusations of unfairly hiking petrol prices since the Iran war.
The UK competition watchdog said last month that there was no widespread evidence of this, adding that average profit margins were “broadly unchanged” between February and March
(BBC)
Representatives from the ’The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce’ met with Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya on Wednesday [24th of June] at the Parliament premises.
During the meeting, discussions focused on the Sri Lanka Economic and Investment Summit 2026 (SLEIS 2026), which is scheduled to be held on 12 and 13 October 2026. Attention was also given to digitalization initiatives, the introduction of digital technologies in schools under new education reforms, and the transformative role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Sri Lanka’s education sector.
Representatives of the Chamber noted that the summit would serve as an important platform for encouraging both local and foreign investment, while also contributing to the shaping of the country’s future economic policies.
The meeting was attended by Krishan Balendra, Chairman of The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce; Vinod Hirdaramani, Deputy Vice Chairman; Shiran Fernando, Secretary General and Chief Executive Officer; Aliki Perera, Deputy Secretary General and Chief Operating Officer; and Anagi Rodrigo-Weerasekera, Chief Economist and Head of Economic Intelligence, along with several other representatives.
[Prime Minister’s Media Division]
A discussion to review the progress of the housing project under which 4,700 houses are being constructed for the Malayagam community with Indian assistance was held this afternoon (24) at the Presidential Secretariat under the chairmanship of the Chief of Staff to the President, Prabath Chandrakeerthi.
Under this housing programme, 2,026 houses are to be provided to families identified by the National Building Research Institute (NBRI) as being at disaster risk. The remaining houses are expected to be allocated to eligible workers residing in the plantation sector.
Accordingly, the houses will be provided to Malayagam community families living on estates belonging to 22 Regional Plantation Companies, as well as estates under the State Plantations Corporation, Janawasama and Elkaduwa Plantations.
For the construction of each house, the Government of India has allocated Rs. 2.8 million, while the Government of Sri Lanka has contributed Rs. 400,000.
During the discussion, Chandrakeerthi instructed officials to ensure that the housing project is completed before the end of this year. He further directed that land identified for the construction of houses be released without delay and that the National Building Research Institute provide the necessary reports to identify suitable land for the project.
The housing project is being implemented jointly by the Ministry of Plantation and Community Infrastructure, the National Housing Development Authority, the State Engineering Corporation and the Plantation Human Development Trust.
Among those present were Additional Secretary (Development) of the Ministry of Plantation and Community Infrastructure, K. S. Wijayakeerthi; Director General (Engineering), N. D. N. Pushpakumara; Director General (Planning), W. A. K. S. Damayanthi; the Secretary General of the Planters’ Association; and officials from the National Housing Development Authority, the State Engineering Corporation, relevant institutions and plantation companies.
(PMD)
Sri Lanka seek big win against Scotland to keep semi-final hopes alive
Oil price falls back to pre-Iran war levels
Venezuela earthquakes: At least 164 dead, 971 injured as toll rises
Representatives from the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce meet PM
Progress of Housing Project for Malayagam Community families funded by India reviewed
South Africa stun South Korea to reach World Cup knockouts for the first time
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
Sunday Island 27 December – Headlines
#SundayIsland 17th December – Headlines
Sunday Island – 28th March
Sunday Island Headlines – 21 March
Sunday Island – 21st February – Headlines
-
News7 days agoCreditor receives USD 2.5 mn as Lankan public bears loss from theft of Treasury funds
-
News6 days agoCreditor not yet paid
-
News6 days agoConsumers bearing 22% tax burden despite 18% VAT claim: Dr. Harsha de Silva
-
Features5 days agoNanda Pethiyagoda Wanasundara as three generations of family saw her
-
Features4 days agoSri Lanka developing independent hydrographic capabilities
-
Opinion7 days agoSriLankan Airbus struck by lightning
-
Editorial5 days agoFuel crisis: Beyond price debate
-
Latest News4 days agoSooryavanshi thumps fastest List A fifty as India A win tri-series