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| Sunday, 26 January 2003 |
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Policy on domestic construction unclear by Elmo Leonard Banks had not paid construction contractors Rs 1 billion which government organisations owe them for work completed. Adviser to the Prime Minister, R. Paskaralingam had urged banks to pay this money to contractors. He had assured the banks that the Government would pay the money to them in two years. The members of the Chamber of Construction Industry of Sri Lanka (CCISL) told the media that local construction contractors were hard-pressed for funds, at a time when the construction industry was at a low-ebb, following a period in which the national economy experienced a negative growth rate. CCISL, a body representing all sectors of the construction industry, was formed one year ago. It is making a joint effort to uplift the local construction industry and allied industries, CCISl President, Surath Wickramasinghe said. Wickramasinghe charged that bureaucracy could not comprehend the importance and urgency to promote the construction industry towards contributing to the rapid growth of the national economy. A large scale reform of the bureaucracy was imperative, he said. Bureaucracy should be compelled to operate in a competitive environment. If not, the growth of the economy and the construction industry would be very slow. Wickramasinghe cited the example of the telecommunication sector, which was changing rapidly following it being subject to competition. "Our industry needs to leapfrog in a similar manner," he said. The two development banks should play a proactive role in the development of the construction industry, especially in light of the current budget, where incentives are offered and interest rates are kept down, Wickramasinghe told a media conference. Alternatively, the Private Sector Investment Development Company should be revamped to support the rapid expanding construction industry, he said. CCISL Secretary, Rukshan Widyalankara said the Chamber has a consultancy role to play in advising the government to stop the influx of foreign consultants, who undertake construction projects which could be handled by local contractors. Answering questions, Widyalankara said CCISL's efforts in this direction had hitherto proved futile. Widyalankara said that where projects are initiated through foreign investment and require expert inputs by foreign consultants and contractors, local consultants and contractors should be given at least 70 per cent of the inputs. Chairman, National Construction Association of Sri Lanka D.D. Wijemanne said that the policy of the Government towards domestic construction industry remains unclear. The policy towards physical infrastructure development appeared to be total dependency on private sector funding or donor funding which means funding from non-government sources. |
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