- Govt. back tracks claims, Min. Samarasinghe says incorrect data given
The Government on Wednesday (6) told the Parliament that while Sri Lanka did not invest any funds in the controversial Supreme SAT project, which involved deploying a communication satellite, the country continued to receive income.
In response to a question about the project and related investments, Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya said that according to Board of Investment (BOI) reports, the 2015-2016 period saw an income of Rs. 19,617 million, the 2016-2017 period, Rs. 28,133 million, the 2017-2018 period, Rs. 29,106 million, the 2018-2019 period, Rs. 34,169 million, the 2019-2020 period, Rs. 42,960 million, the 2020-2021 period, Rs. 62,545 million, the 2021-2022 period, Rs. 87,789 million, and the first six months of 2023, Rs. 39,590 million.
She stated that Supreme SAT entered into an agreement with the BOI on 23 May 2012, and that in the 2013-2014 period, this firm had invested Rs. 12,104,936 in the said satellite. Referring to the investment application presented by the firm, she added that the Sri Lankan Government has not invested in this project. “As per Section 17 of the BOI Act, this investment has been made considering this project as one focusing on the domestic market,” she noted.
However, Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe told the Parliament that the data provided to the PM was inaccurate, adding that an investigation into the project was warranted.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Opposition Parliamentarian D.V. Chanaka thanked the Premier for her statement, which he said is a response to a major allegation about discouraging investors. Noting that the said satellite attracted allegations of Sri Lanka having invested and losing United States Dollars 300 million, he stressed the importance of disclosing the truth about investments for and revenue from the satellite project.
In response, the Premier said that the Government does not intend to discourage investors.
The Daily Morning’s attempts to contact several SLPP members to discuss their stance in this regard were not successful.