SriLankan Airlines (UL, Colombo International) Head of Group Legal Affairs Mayuka Ranasinghe told the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCOI) in Sri Lanka that the 2013 MoU for ten widebody aircraft from Airbus was placed with a breach in procurement procedures, The Island has reported.
According to Ranasinghe, the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) worth LKR146.1 billion rupees (USD813 million) was authorised by the carrier's non-executive ex-Chairman Nishantha Wickremesinghe. However, the company's procurement rules stipulate that deals in excess of LKR100 billion rupees have to be authorised by the CEO, while the Chairman has no authority to sign contracts on behalf of the airline.
The MoU covered six A330-300s and four A350-900s. The decision to ink the tentative deal was taken during a private meeting at a residence of Chamal Rajapaksa, then Speaker of the Sri Lankan Parliament and a brother of the country's president.
Subsequently, the contract was changed to cover seven A330-300s and eight A350-900s.
SriLankan Airlines eventually took delivery of all seven A330-300(E)s in 2014 and 2015, including six units dry-leased from Avolon and one from Air Lease Corporation. It cancelled half of the order for the A350s at a cost of LKR18.8 billion rupees (USD105 million) and is reportedly looking at delaying or cancelling the delivery of the other four units of the type.
