Sri Lanka to target 8.2 pct economic growth in 2015 budget

The Government of Sri Lanka intends to achieve an economic growth rate of 8.2 percent and a budget deficit of 4.4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) for the next year.

This has been revealed in the Appropriation Bill for 2015 submitted today for cabinet approval, reports the Lanka Page web site.

The Cabinet of ministers Thursday approved the Appropriation Bill for the Financial Year 2015 submitted by President Mahinda Rajapaksa in his capacity as the Minister of Finance and Planning.

The next year's budget will be prepared with the aim of maintaining the continuous development move for the next three years.

Priority has been given for timely completion of ongoing development activities and new development projects identified for implementation during the medium term, based on the priorities identified during the discussions.

For this year, the government is targetting a 7.8 percent economic growth and 5.2 percent of GDP budget deficit while expecting the inflation to remain in single digits at 6.0 percent.

The government also aims to reduce the public debt within the 2015-2017 period from the 75 percent of GDP this year to 65 percent of GDP in 2017. The public debt is estimated to be 71 percent of GDP in 2015 and 68.0 percent in 2016.

The island nation also plans to increase the public investment to 6.5 percent of GDP for the next three years from the current 6.0 percent.