COLOMBO, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's national air carrier, Sri Lankan Airlines, on Friday said it had formulated a five-year strategic business plan to transform the island country into a strategic hub for air travel and air cargo in the Asia-Africa-Middle East region.

The plan will be implemented this year and will be carried out till 2024.

Vipula Gunatilleka, CEO of Sri Lankan Airlines said that it was important for the airline to have a sound strategy plan and a clear vision for it to become a financial viable entity.

A key aspect of the Strategic Business Plan includes developing a route network to match customer demand and market opportunities, including new destinations in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, the Far East and Australia.

The airline will also focus on selecting a fleet that is cost effective and best matches the requirements of the route network, adopting best practices to improve productivity and growing online sales to reach a wider market in a more cost effective manner.

Digital transformation and technology adoption to transform processes across the Airline have also been identified as top priorities.

Sri Lankan Airlines has in recent years been facing high debts and has been searching for an international investor to run the carrier on a private public partnership.

In 2017, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had said the airline had recorded a massive debt of 3.25 billion U.S. dollars and the government would take over part of its debts in order to seek for an international partner or investor.