Companies run by father and son got contracts for putting up UL hoarding

By Rathindra Kuruwita -July 19, 2018, 12:02 pm 

 SriLankan Airlines had put up its hoardings mainly in the Western and Southern Provinces, at a cost of Rs. 415 million for seven years without conducting an independent survey on their impact till late 2015, Saminda Perera, Senior Manager Marketing of SriLankan Airlines told the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) on irregularities at SriLankan Airlines, SriLankan Catering and Mihin Lanka yesterday.

"Only three hoardings have been put up in other parts of the country such as Kandy, Nuwara-Eliya and Elephant Pass," Perera said.The focus of the advertising campaign had been on the Southern Province because of the Mattala Airport, the Hambantota Convention Centre and the opening ceremony of SriLankan’s entry into one world alliance, he said.

One million passengers were expected to use the Mattala airport.

It was also revealed that Kuma Stickers and Vihanga Marketing, owned by father and son, had been selected for putting up hoardings and they had offered the same locations for six hoardings.

When queried why they had not placed hoardings in other parts of the country, Perera said that they didn’t have adequate funding. 

"We had not carried out any independent surveys on the impact of these hoardings till late 2015. There have been occasions when the company concerned was asked to select the locations where hoardings were to be put up," he said.