More benefits for industrial, tourism development in budget

President Mahinda Rajapaksa entertained views of officials and experts of different disciplines during pre-budget discussion yesterday Centred on investments and problems in the tourist trade and solutions.

It was revealed that an investment targeting US$ 734 million could be realised and during the first six months of the year alone $ 425 million was invested for industrial development.

It was also revealed that an acute shortage of skilled workers prevailed in the newly established and expanded industries for which BoI approval have been obtained. About 5,000 vacancies exist in the industrial sector, it has been found.

President Rajapaksa said the budget would offer solutions to these problems and instructed to shift the industries to rural areas so that the shortage of the skilled labour could be eliminated. The next budget would consider improving infrastructure such as roads, electricity, water etc in the rural areas, he said.

The President instructed officials to initiate action to promote tourist arrivals from China and the Middle East.

The tourist industry is the fourth foreign exchange earner in the country providing direct and indirect employment for over 800,000 people.

In response to requests by the Ceylon Hotels Corporation, tourist operators and small and medium-scale tourist entrepreneurs, it was decided to provide a grace period for the repayment of loan and also to launch several programmes to promote the tourist inflow.

Ministers John Seneviratne, Milinda Moragoda, Ranjith Siyambalapitiya and Faizer Mustafa, Presidential Secretary, Lalith Weeratunga and several officials participated.