Hambanthota port sold but loan still paid - Prime Minister of Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa said that although the previous government had sold the Hambanthota port to China, they had not settled the loans with the money earned.  

Prime Minister and Minister of  Finance Mahinda Rajapaksa expressed these views in the parliament at the Second Reading and the Committee Stage Debate on the Appropriation Bill 2020.

"Annual debt service for the Hambanthota port is $ 90 million. The previous regime sold the port for $1,200 million. However, the money was not spent to pay back the loans and used for day to day budget expenses. Still, the Treasury of Sri Lanka annually pays that loan to the EXIM Bank of China," Rajapaksa said. 

The Prime Minister stated that the government had settled all the loans in contrary to the Oppoisition's speculations that Sri Lanka would default. 

The annual debt services of Sri Lanka is around $ 4.2 billion since this year, the Prime Minister said. He reported to the parliament that all foreign and other debt of 2020 had been settled. 

The government proposed to increase the upper ceiling of debt of 2020 by Rs. 180 billion.