Current government develops expressways with local tax revenue instead of foreign loans

Previous governments constructed expressways by obtaining billions in foreign loans, but the current administration develops the road network using fair tax revenues collected from the public, Deputy Minister of Housing Construction and Water Supply T.B. Sarath states.

The country's economy suffered a severe setback during past administrations because taxes were not properly collected from large-scale businessmen, the Deputy Minister emphasised while speaking to the media.

The current government took steps to recover billions of rupees in taxes owed by businessmen such as Daya Gamage, Johnston Fernando, and Aloysius, the Deputy Minister noted.

"The rulers back then trapped the country in a debt trap by granting tax concessions to their favoured businessmen. However, what we do today is properly collect those evaded taxes for the government and utilise that money for the welfare of the public. We commenced operations on the expressways from Rambukkana to Kurunegala and from Colombo to Mirigama using domestic funds," Deputy Minister T.B. Sarath further stated.

The government plans to extend the expressway network up to Dambulla by the end of 2029, and it expects to complete all these development activities through domestic strength without becoming indebted to foreign nations, Deputy Minister T.B. Sarath emphasised.