Sri Lanka government spent large amount of money for IIFA Awards 2010

In its attempt to build a positive image, Sri Lankan government spent a large amount of money in the recently held IIFA Awards 2010.

The Sunday Times reported that Sri Lankan government originally approved Rs.450 million for IIFA. The total expenditure for the event was about Rs.1.1 billion of which over Rs. 850 million has been provided by the government. This is too much for a country that just came out of a long bloody civil war.

Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena, Deputy Economic Minister, Sri Lanka at a Press Conference, said that the total government expenditure for the IIFA Awards 2010 was Rs.850 million of which 450 million was approved by the Treasury.

He said that Rs.400 million was spent on renovating the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium. The government had to fix the Indoor stadium. They fixed the air conditioning and repaired two thousand seats. However, Mr. Abeywardena did not mention that the Rs.400 million is actually a loan from a state bank.

In addition, the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) spent Rs.75 million to repair the roads and roundabouts. The Ceylon Electricy Board spent a lot to power up the stadium and Defense Ministry bore the expense of making security arrangements.

However, the tourism authorities and Wizcraft officials said that the return to Sri Lanka far higher than the spending. Wizcraft Director Sabbas Joseph said that Sri Lankan government received $60 million for advertising and a publicity worth Rs.1.5 million from International media. The IIFA 2010 Colombo show was viewed by 600 million viewers in India and across 120 countries in the world.