The Government’s decision to suspend/put on hold state-funded construction projects has come as a double whammy for the construction industry, which is already suffering from a lack of private sector investments and Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs). This decision that applies to the first six months of the year is likely to create a vacuum of activity and revenue for construction companies, according to the Chamber of Construction Industries (CCI) of Sri Lanka, the apex representative body of all construction industry stakeholders in the country. “The Government has decided to be very careful with its expenditure due to the tax concessions they announced late last year and as a result they will not invest in the construction sector. At the moment we are not getting FDIs either. Builders are going through a phase with no projects,” CCI President Eng. Maj. Ranjith Gunatilleke told The Sunday Morning Business. He believes the only relief at the moment would be a sudden increase in FDIs into the leisure, residential, and entertainment segments. However, he added that the CCI understands the rationality behind this decision of reducing expenditures by the Government and noted that the Chamber is hopeful of getting FDIs in the coming months, especially after the General Elections. The period without any investments comes on top of the existing issues of the industry that were partially created following the Easter Sunday attacks last year, and exacerbated by the Presidential Elections in November 2019. Speaking further, referring to the Government’s plan to create 100,000 jobs for unskilled labourers, Gunatilleke noted that following the training period of these unskilled youths, they will be provided with jobs in the state sector, and the construction industry will be a significant part of it, therefore, developments should be made to ensure there is space for new jobs. “To create jobs, the Government has to develop industries as only state-funded or local projects recruit local labour. Special attention has to be paid towards the development of the construction industry if we are to create jobs for our youths,” he added. Gunatilleke expects President Gotabaya Rajapakse’s manifesto proposal of reducing the time taken to obtain building permits to be implemented soon, as it would tremendously encourage foreigners to invest in the local construction sector. Accordingly, it is expected to be brought down to three months from a yearlong lethargic process filled with unnecessary bureaucracy. In addition to these, the CCI prefers a respective chamber representative without a conflict of interest to be appointed to Technical Evaluation Committees (TECs) of state-funded projects to ensure proper utilisation of taxpayers’ money. “We are going to discuss with the relevant authorities on this matter. Sometimes the members of the TECs do not have an idea about the projects, and this results in the misuse and corruption of public money. We want to ensure that this does not happen,” he added. The CCI and other industry representatives are expected to meet with Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse to discuss the aforementioned issues. “With the current situation, 2020 might not be the best year for the construction sector but hopefully our issues will get resolved this year,” Gunatilleke added. Sri Lanka’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was Rs. 14,449 billion in 2018, of which the construction sector’s contribution was approximately Rs. 1,083 billion, according to the CCI. The total debt from the construction sector to private and state banks stands at 20% of their contribution to GDP, which is over Rs. 216 billion.