Hon. (Dr.) Anil Jayantha

¶ 01 Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, I table the answer.

¶ 02 Answer tabled:

¶ 03 (a)(i) 18 projects.

¶ 04 (ii) Six projects have been halted. They are: - Port 220 kV, 2nd Cable for evacuating power from the proposed Natural Gas Power Plant at Kerawalapitiya. - Terrestrial Television Digitization Project. - Central Expressway Project – Section 3 (from Potuhera to Galagedara). - Light Rail Transit (LRT) System. - Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte Wastewater Treatment Plant Project. - Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) Development Project.

¶ 05 (iii) Measures: - Kerawalapitiya 220 kV 2nd Cable: Subsequently decided to implement under the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). - Terrestrial TV Digitization: A Cabinet-appointed committee is in place; a joint Cabinet Memorandum by the Hon. Minister of Health and Mass Media and the Hon. Minister of Digital Economy will be submitted to award consultancy services and resolve implementation issues. - Central Expressway Section 3: Now being implemented with domestic financing. - LRT: Following the 2019 decision to terminate the loan agreement, the matter has been referred to the Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development and Housing, and the Director General, Department of National Planning, to identify a more suitable urban transport solution for Colombo. Given current fiscal conditions, any resumption would require fresh discussions with the Government of Japan. - Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte Wastewater Treatment Plant: Implementation could not proceed due to public protests relating to the main treatment plant site. - BIA Development: After signing the Official Creditor Committee (OCC) agreement and resuming debt servicing, Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) (Pvt) Ltd. has commenced a new procurement process. The Government has prioritized BIA development and will commence the project as early as possible.

¶ 06 (b) Not applicable.