Institute of Builders wants priority SME settlement in Govt. dues to contractors

Monday, 5 December 2022 01:26 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

CIOB refers to CBSL Chief saying Rs. 25 b out of Rs. 200 b due will be paid to contractors by end of the year

Ceylon Institute of Builders President Dr. Rohan Karunaratne

The Ceylon Institute of Builders President Dr. Rohan Karunaratne yesterday called for priority SME settlement citing that the Central Bank Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe has said Rs. 25 billion out of Rs. 200 billion due to contractors will be released by end of the year.

“As the dues for large-scale contractors are very high, we strongly recommend that these funds are utilised to settle SME sector dues first, as this would provide relief for a larger number of SME contractors,” Karunaratne said.

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He said allocating these funds to large-scale contractors may lead to partial satisfaction of massive dues of a limited number of contractors and would leave contractors’ finances suspended midway.

CIOB Chief recommends that the Government can tackle large-scale contractors’ bills via issuing Treasury Bills if no cash is available at present. “In such a way, we thank the CBSL Governor for this provision, and we hope that restarting important projects in the country in 2023 would solve a large part of the problem,” Karunaratne said.

He also said the Government should encourage financing agencies to continue with their funded projects in Sri Lanka. “This may allow about 30-40% of contractors to survive and prevent the further retrenchment of workers and to restart the SME sector companies that are part of the construction supply chain,” explained Karunaratne.

“The CBSL Governor should give priority to the settlement of the balance dues to contractors in the year 2023, as this may save contractors and their associated banking sector and finance companies,” he added.