Ceylon Institute of Builders congratulates new Govt., seeks return of golden era for construction

The trade chambers representing the Sri Lankan construction industry are optimistic that with the new Government under the Presidency of Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the Premiership of Mahinda Rajapaksa, there will be rapid progress towards the sustainable development of our country.  They convey their best wishes towards the victory of the new Government. 

Dr. Rohan Karunaratne, Chairman Ceylon Institute of Builders, Past President NCASL (National Construction Association of Sri Lanka) and Vice President of CCI (Chamber of Construction Industry Sri Lanka), expressed his views on the Government and the construction industry stating, “The golden era of the Sri Lankan construction industry was during the time of the President Mahinda Rajapaksa. At that time the growth of the construction industry was at 20%, similar to many well-developed countries in Asia in the year 2014 and our contribution to the Sri Lankan GDP was around 9.6%.

“However, after the year 2015 there was a gradual decline in the construction industry. Industry growth fell to around 6% and so did its contribution towards the GDP, declining to around 4%. Both small-medium construction companies and large-scale companies faced serious financial problems. This has created uncertainty in the employment of professionals and workforce who earned a living from the industry. The total numbers who are working in the construction industry in/directly is about one million in Sri Lanka.  “A key piece of the economic development of a country is the construction industry of that country. With the consent of the majority, the country has secured a strong leadership and a new Government. We are extremely hopeful that we would be able to regain the golden era in the construction industry under Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Mahinda Rajapaksa along with the newly appointed government.”