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| Sunday, 2 October 2005 |
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CCISL hosts buyers/sellers meet and SME fair The Chamber of Construction Industry Sri Lanka (CCISL) will host the 'Buyers/Sellers Meet and SME Fair' of the Construction Industry from October 14 to 16 at the BMICH. This event is supported by the Ministry of Housing and Construction and German Technical Cooperation, a media realise from the CCISL said. The event is specifically designed to enhance the capacity and competitiveness of the domestic construction industry, to meet the increasing demand of the reconstruction and rehabilitation exercise of tsunami affected areas as well as other development endeavours. The country faces a huge shortage of basic construction materials such as cement, steel and sand in addition to skills. Most of the domestic contractors are not eligible to bid for multinational development bank-funded projects due to inadequate pre qualifications. A large percentage of the domestic construction industry is from the SME sector. They not only relate to construction contracting but are also engaged as manufacturers and suppliers of construction inputs such as tiles, bricks, concrete blocks and sand which form the informal sector. Hence an attempt to develop the capacities of the domestic construction industry must necessarily encompass development of Small and Medium Enterprise sector which plays an increasingly important role not only in the construction industry but also in the overall development of any country through generation of employment opportunities and contributing to growth of the GDP. SMEs are the backbone of the economy of developing countries. Development of SMEs is of fundamental importance to enhance the capacities and competitiveness. Some attempts have been made in the past to develop SMEs but such attempts have not been regular and consistent. Particularly in the construction industry linkages between large enterprises and the SMEs need to be promoted. Large enterprises to achieve competitiveness must outsource from the contractors of the SME sector. The SME sector should form a consortia among themselves as well as
establish partnerships with large enterprises to enhance capacities and
undertake multinational development bank-funded projects, the release said. |
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