A new Postal Act will be presented to Parliament within this year to expedite the modernization process of Postal Department, State Minister of Mass Media Shantha Bandara said.

The modernization process is planned to be carried out as a joint public-private sector partnership at a cost of Rs. 10 billion and that the Postal Department will not be privatized at any cost, State Minister Shantha Bandara said.

He expressed these views on Sunday (16) during a press conference themed ‘Collective Path to a Stable Country’ held at the Presidential Media Center (PMC).

It is expected to convert the Postal Department into a profit-making institution within the next two years, through the digitization of the Department, the Minister pointed out.

Further the Minister said that by the end of 2023, the loss of the Postal Department will be reduced by Rs. 4,000 million.

“When President Ranil Wickremesinghe assigned me this Ministry he entrusted me with the challenge of converting the Postal Department into a profit generating institution. The Postal Service’s income in 2022 was Rs. 7,000 million while the expenditure was Rs. 14,000 million.

“I discussed with the relevant officials and took steps to reduce the gap between the income and the expenditure of the Postal Department from Rs. 7, 000 million to Rs.4, 000 million. It is planned to resolve the gap between income and expenditure by the year 2024. In 2025, our goal is to create a Postal Department that no longer depends on the Treasury,” the State Minister said.

“The Postal Department, which is one of the oldest Departments in this country, still has an Ordinance brought during the time of the Queen.

“It has been amended only once so far. We have identified the Post Office Ordinance as a major obstacle to the modernization process of the Postal Department and other relevant activities. Therefore steps are being taken to amend it urgently and its work has already been completed by 80 percent.” the State Minister said.

“We hope to create new revenue generation channels through Digitization of postal service. Currently, Rs. 4000 million, Rs. 668 million and Rs. 200 million has been earned annually by the sale of stamps, postage of stamps and Cash On Delivery (COD) service respectively. Also, in the future, it is planned to increase the revenue by popularizing the COD method. During the modernization of postal service, 1000 three wheelers will be deployed all over the country replacing the traditional bicycles that were used in field for a long time. We also hope to provide an official uniform. By doing so, our ultimate goal is to create a strong postal service in the country,” State Minister of Mass Media Shantha Bandara added.