Cement shortage hits construction sector

by Jayampathy Jayasinghe

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The shortage of cement in the country not only hampers construction work but also affects the livelihood of the labour force.

Chairman, Lanka Cement Ltd, Sisira J. Paranagama told a media briefing hosted by the National Construction Association recently that the shortage of cement in the country was due to the construction boom in Dubai, Doha Qatar and India.

Due to losses sustained by Indian businessmen they no longer sell cement in packed bags here and have moved their packing plant to India. There was a big demand for cement in India.

"We hope to import cement soon but due to the escalating freight charges and shortage of ships it will be delayed. The price of cement in the market fluctuate and a bag priced at Rs. 692, was sold at Rs. 720 and above by traders.

He said the Government departments, private contractors and the Cooperative Wholesale Establishment (CWE) owe Rs. 20 million to Lanka Cement Ltd.

"When I assumed duties as Chairman of Lanka Cement it was a bankrupt institution. However, under the guidance of Minister of Industrial Development, Kumara Welgama I was able to pay the salaries of employees. Contactors who owe money to Lanka Cement Ltd, should settle their debts and for this purpose we have written to the General Manager of the National Construction Association.

The Chairman of the National Construction Association of Sri Lanka Dr. Rohan Karunaratne said despite Sri Lanka's construction industry contributing heavily to uplift the national economy to the tune of Rs. 250-300 billion annually it has been beset with a variety of problems.

He said if problems affecting the construction industry were not resolved it could adversely affect the national economy as well as the minor employees of the industry. Construction work plummeted last year affecting scores of people employed in the industry. The dilemma faced by contractors was the delay of payment to them from State departments. The government should resolve this problem, he said. Dr. Karunartatne said the National Construction Association had been involved in the construction of a major housing project worth Rs. 3 billion for disabled soldiers in Ipologama at Kekirawa.

The Association had constructed nine flyovers in the country. Referring to the traffic congestion in Colombo and elsewhere he said they have discussed it with the Road Development Authority (RDA) and have devised a plan to overcome the problem by constructing flyovers.

The Association intends to complete the flyovers by this year. However, the major obstacle faced by contactors was the shortage of cement and iron for construction work.

The Association had implemented large projects on behalf of the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank. Some of the major projects undertaken by them were the construction of Baseline Road and the expansion of the Airport.

They also undertook the rehabilitation of the A 9 Highway during the tenure of the UNP government. National Construction Association's General Manager Ananda Weerasekera said the output of skilled workers from the 126 vocational centres should be around 70 per cent to meet the country's requirement. Meanwhile, the Government is taking steps to set up a university for the vocational training. The National Construction Industry of Sri Lanka too has decided to set up an industry focused training centre for the higher grade of skilled workers.

There was also a vocational training centre at Payagala Kalutara. Referring to safety measures, he said, there wasn't a major calamity in Sri Lanka unlike in other countries. S. P. Liyanarachchi, M. Jayamanne, M. D. Amarasena, Ranjit Hewage, S. G. K. D. A. Duminda, Ruwan de Silva, K. D. Wickramapala, Pubudu Kamal Perera participated in the press briefing.