COLOMBO, Aug 30 (NNN-XINHUA) – The Sri Lankan government is planning to sell 49 percent of the shares of state-owned SriLankan Airlines’ catering and ground-handling units, to restructure the national carrier, Minister of Aviation, Nimal Siripala de Silva, said yesterday.
The minister said that, revenue from the sale of SriLankan Catering shares will be used to pay off debt, to the tune of 80 million U.S. dollars. He said, this will reduce the debt burden of SriLankan Airlines.
“We expect a substantial amount of money for a sale of a 49-percent stake at Ground Handling. We will call for expressions of interest soon,” he said.
During the briefing, the minister also said, the total debt of SriLankan Airlines is 1.12 billion dollars.– NNN-XINHUA
