High-level committee appointed to expedite large scale foreign-funded projects

• Committee to be headed by Secretary to the Prime Minister
• By end 2Q, 260 large scale development projects worth Rs.5.8tn were in various stages of implementation
• Out of them, 125 projects were financed by foreign financing sources

The government has appointed a committee of officials comprising senior officers and chaired by the Secretary to the Prime Minister to expedite large-scale foreign-funded projects as the implementation of these projects came to a standstill in the second quarter of the year.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe in his capacity as the Minister of Finance, Economic Stabilisation and National Policies on Monday sought the approval of the Cabinet of Ministers to appoint the committee of officials to obtain the assistance of relevant parties to ensure the smooth functioning of these projects as well as to take action to solve the existing issues and achieve the expected targets from those projects.

According to the report prepared by the Department of Project Management and Supervision, the accumulated physical progress of large-scale (above Rs.1 billion) projects were stalled at the end of second quarter of the year due to import restrictions, shortage of raw materials, fuel crisis, power cuts, inflation combined with contract management issues. 
At the end of the second quarter, 260 large-scale development projects with a total investment of Rs.5.8 trillion were in various stages of implementation.

Out of them, 125 projects are financed by foreign financing sources while their project completion time extends up to year 2030.
The government has reallocated capital expenditure through the revised budget to social welfare schemes in order to provide relief to the public battered by economic crisis. 
Some of the bilateral project funding was also suspended following the government’s announcement on pre-emptive default on external debt in mid-April.