Opposition lawmaker Namal Rajapaksa has rejected claims by Transport Minister Bimal Rathnayake that Rajapaksa administration leased the Southern Expressway service station on a 99-year lease for Rs 10,000.
In a statement posted on X, Rajapaksa said the property was leased by the Road Development Authority to Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation, both state-owned entities. He urged Rathnayake to verify the information with Finance Minister Anura Dissanayake, under whose purview Sri Lanka Insurance operates.
Rathnayake made the allegation during a parliamentary session on June 20, claiming the lease was part of politically motivated changes during the Rajapaksa administration. He said original expressway plans were altered, leading to billions of rupees in public losses.
Among the changes, Rathnayake cited the addition of two interchanges—Kapuduwa and Bedigama—not in the original blueprint. Each cost between Rs 600 million and Rs 1 billion, he said.
Rajapaksa challenged Rathnayake to produce the lease agreement and defended the service area’s use, noting it serves thousands of commuters daily. (Newswire)