All stalled development projects will be resumed as soon as the foreign debt restructuring is completed, Transport, Highways and Mass Media Minister Dr. Bandula Gunawardhana said.
The Minister expressed these views on the occasion of the commencement of construction of the Kosgama-Daturugoda-Thawalgoda road and the Aswatta North-Hadduwa road which is being developed under the 1500 km road development project for 2024 under the Transport and Highways Ministry.
The Minister said; “No matter which President came to power in our country after Independence, no matter which government ruled, all the development projects for infrastructure have been started by taking loans both domestically and abroad. There was no government in Sri Lanka that didn’t borrow.
They took loans from the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, International Monetary Fund at concessional interest rates, but those loans were not sufficient, so they issued sovereign bonds from the international market at high interest rates and obtained loans.
The country became unsustainable to pay the loan installments and interest. Institutions which guides international creditors downgraded Sri Lanka.
Then Letters of Credit from Sri Lankan banks were not accepted internationally. As a result, it was not possible to import essential goods such as fuel, gas and medicines needed by the country. During this economic crisis, the activists and extremists set fire to the country, killed parliamentarians, burned down property and worked to bury democracy.
Based on that situation, when no one came forward to take over the country, Ranil Wickremesinghe took over the country and ran for the Presidential vote in the Parliament. During the subsequent vote in which Dullas Alahapperuma and Ranil Wickremesinghe appeared, most of the people’s representatives confirmed that incumbent President can save the country and entrusted the country to him.
He conducted many negotiations with all the countries of the world and signed a comprehensive loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund and started a process to save the country from bankruptcy. It is not finished yet. At present, no new foreign loan assistance is being received for any development project. Therefore, all the development projects that have been started have stalled.
The development projects that are being started today will be started with the money allocated to our ministry by the 2024 budget. They are also local loans. The people of the country should understand these real difficulties and the seriousness of the issue.
The government is hoping that a day will come soon when all the development projects that have been stopped in the middle as requested by you will be started soon. It should be noted that as soon as the debt restructuring agreements, which have reached the final stage, are signed with the international community, the development projects that have been stopped throughout the country will be restarted”.
Officials including Ruwan Darshana, Western Provincial Director of the Road Development Authority, were present at these inaugural events.
