NewsSri Lanka said Thursday it will reduce its foreign debt by $1 billion by selling off former strongman president Mahinda Rajapakse's vanity projects. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told parliament he wanted to privatise a $1.3 billion port and a $210 million airport in Rajapakse's home constituency which have become huge white elephants. “By turning the debt into equity and forming a public-private partnership to run the airport and the harbour, we will reduce our foreign debt by a billion dollars,” Wickremesinghe said. Only one airline operates flights to the airport in the sparsely-populated area while the harbour is also one of the emptiest in the world. The former administration relied heavily on China to build ports, highways and railways as Western nations shunned it over its dismal human rights record.

Source: Sunday Times October 27, 2016 11:59 UTC