Financial Times

Cabraal discusses budget with AMCHAM members
Ajith Nivard Cabraal, advisor to President Mahinda Rajapakse and Secretary, Plan Implementation, recently spoke to the the American Chamber of Commerce in Sri Lanka (AMCHAM) membership, a day after the budget on budget issues and policies of the new government.

Cabraal, one of the Mahinda Chintana’s key architects, discussed the government’s plans for achieving an annual growth rate of 8% and elaborated on steps to boost the economy through infrastructure development, promising to invest heavily in such projects, particularly in rural areas. Some of the large-scale development projects referred to by Cabraal were the proposed IT City in Kamburupitiya, the Katunayake – Ratmalana Railway Link and a new terminal at the International Airport.

He also announced plans to establish 12 new industrial zones and promised that the government would help in securing 1.5 million in tourists by 2011. Cabraal explained that the government was committed to reducing the budget deficit to a sustainable level by managing public expenditure efficiently and subjecting government expenditure to continuous review.

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