Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) MP Namal Rajapaksa has rejected a statement made by Transport Minister Bimal Rathnayake, who claimed that the Rajapaksa administration had leased a service area on the Southern Expressway for 99 years at just Rs 10,000.

Responding via a post on his official X (formerly Twitter) account, Rajapaksa clarified that the service area in question was leased by the Road Development Authority (RDA) to Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation (SLIC)—both of which are State-owned entities.

He urged Finance Minister Anura Kumara Dissanayake to verify the facts from the SLIC, which operates under the purview of the Ministry of Finance, and confirm the legitimacy of the arrangement.

The allegation by Rathnayake was made in Parliament yesterday (20), where he stated that a service area established in the Walipenna region along the Southern Expressway had been granted by the Rajapaksas for an extended lease of 99 years at a nominal fee of Rs 10,000.

Rathnayake made the statement while responding to a question raised by MP Rohitha Abeygunawardena regarding the proposed construction of the Pelpola Interchange in the Millaniya area.