Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya confirmed in Parliament today (August 6) that the Sri Lankan government did not spend any funds on the Supreme Sat Communication Satellite Project, which was reportedly carried out under the supervision of Rohitha Rajapaksa, son of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. She also revealed that the project has generated a total revenue of Rs. 343.9 billion from 2015 to mid-2023.
The Prime Minister made these remarks in response to a question raised in Parliament regarding the investment and income related to the Supreme Sat project.
“In response to the question raised about the communication satellite launched by Supreme Sat, a subsidiary of Supreme Global, in 2011/2012, an agreement was signed with the Board of Investment (BOI) on 23.05.2012. During 2013/2014, the company invested Rs. 12 million in the satellite. According to the investment application submitted, the Government of Sri Lanka has not invested any money,” she said.
She also outlined the goals of the satellite initiative, stating:
“This was an investment project targeting the domestic market under Section 17 of the BOI Act. Supreme SHST (Pvt) Ltd entered into an agreement with the BOI on 23.05.2012 to establish and operate a satellite system at the Kandy Pallekele Industrial Park, with an investment of Rs. 1,828 million. The project aimed to provide telecommunications and broadcasting services to subscribers and began commercial operations on 27.08.2015.”
According to the Prime Minister, 80% of the company’s shares are owned by Supreme Global Holdings (Pvt) Ltd, while the remaining 20% is held by Supreme SL Investments (Pvt) Ltd.
Revenue from 2015 to Mid-2023:
Dr. Amarasuriya also presented the annual revenue data for the project as follows:
- 2015/2016: Rs. 19,617 million
- 2016/2017: Rs. 28,133 million
- 2017/2018: Rs. 29,106 million
- 2018/2019: Rs. 34,169 million
- 2019/2020: Rs. 42,960 million
- 2020/2021: Rs. 62,545 million
- 2021/2022: Rs. 87,789 million
- First half of 2023: Rs. 39,590 million
This brings the total revenue from 2015 up to mid-2023 to Rs. 343,909 million.
