The Construction Industry one of the largest industries in Sri Lanka, which contributes approx. 9.6% to Sri Lanka’s GDP and employs indirectly over 1 million people has submitted 6 proposals through its apex body Ceylon Institute of Builders (CIOB).
President CIOB Dr. Rohan Karunaratne (Pictured) in a press release says “As such, We, Ceylon Institute of Builders (CIOB), requests the newly appointed team to take the best use out of the Construction Industry to help the country at this critical junction, and consider recent proposals given by the industry to revive Sri Lankan Construction,”
Following are the proposals:
1) Immediate action to be taken- each day that contractors work, they are losing & descending further into debt. Therefore, we decided to temporarily halt all projects, for a short period, and re-assess our projects and ways of working. During this time outstanding bills can be settled and balance work can be resumed according to a Cost-plus system. If the client cannot afford it, we should reduce the scope of work or, instead of abandoning the project, complete projects up to a point that the structure/building is usable or operational, 2) Advise banks not to encash bonds and guarantees during this period.
3) Forex problem, Material shortage & Price hike- to negotiate a specific credit line with India & China to import construction-related materials, 4) Abandoned projects to be completed, so that those buildings can be put to use and operationalised, 5) New projects- Only award necessary projects. Before awarding, ensure that there is a pre-set financial agreement so that contractors’ cash flow is not disrupted, 6) Internal issues- officers and personnel involved in the approval process should be reasonable and efficient. A drastic change should take place here, to reduce the dragging of projects for extended periods of time.
Each member of the newly appointed team, the Minister of Finance, Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka & Secretary to the Ministry of Finance, has experience and knowledge of the contractors distress and issues in the industry; we especially hope that our concerns are heard so the Construction Industry can contribute our maximum to the GDP. We wish this team can definitely revive the Sri Lankan Economy and the Construction Economy.
Tuesday, April 12, 2022 – 01:00