The Hon. Harshana Suriyapperuma - Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning

¶ 01 Thank you, Madam Deputy Chair.

¶ 02 Rs. 73.9 billion is for maintenance and development of the railway system; Rs. 22 billion to maintain and operate our airline; Rs. 8.87 billion to strengthen the ports system.

¶ 03 For facilities needed for a good life, Rs. 190 billion is allocated: over Rs. 100 billion for drinking water facilities; Rs. 39.2 billion for providing housing units; Rs. 25.1 billion for regional development; Rs. 11.5 billion for youth and sports; and Rs. 5.7 billion for urban development.

¶ 04 Furthermore, Rs. 254 billion is allocated for food security, distributed among agriculture, fisheries, irrigation, land development, livestock development and related industries.

¶ 05 Madam Deputy Chair, Rs. 44 billion is allocated for protecting the environment—forest conservation, disaster management, environmental protection, flood control, solid waste management, forest protection, and wastewater disposal. Also, to develop entrepreneurship, a staggering Rs. 99 billion has been allocated; Rs. 7.98 billion for industrial promotion; Rs. 2.4 billion for investment attraction; and Rs. 7.11 billion for foreign employment and workers.

¶ 06 Next, Rs. 21 billion for the energy sector, and over Rs. 295 billion for other public needs. I detailed this to show that this Budget lays the foundation required for the economic programme to rebuild the country.

¶ 07 Thank you very much.