Annual Report 2010 - Ministry of Finance and Planning

Ministry of Finance and Planning Sri Lanka > Annual Report 2010such as small township development,rural road development, small creditschemes, village saving organizations,rural market development, andfertilizer subsidy, which have ultimatelyhelped to increase the total productionof the country.The government has realized theimportance of improving connectivityand mobility within and betweenthe regions which induce economicdevelopment of the country. Under the“Maga Neguma” Programme, whichmainly focuses on enhancing rural roadnetworks, 703km has been improvedor reconstructed with spendingRs. 3.0 billion in 2010.Income distribution among thehouseholds did not show a significantvariation among the provinces.According the Table: 1.53, it is clearthat Gini Coefficients of householdincome of most of the Provincesincluding the Western Province havesignificantly declined in 2009/10compared to 2006/07.Disparity in infrastructure facilitiesavailable between regions andthe center was one of the mainobstacles for industrial developmentin the country. Under the IndustrialEstates programme, investorsare encouraged to invest in theregional level. Meanwhile, theindustrial villages developmentprogramme has promoted domestictraditional industries, such asclay based products, kitul basedproducts, cane based products,coir based products, and cashewbased products to enhance thehousehold income of rural people.Table:1.55 show the Provincial wisedistribution of existing industrialplots in Industrial Estates and thepeoplised Industrial Villages in 2009and 2010. Even though the highestaccumulation of the industrial plotsstill can be seen in the WesternProvince, more than 50 percent ofplots have been located in otherprovinces in 2010.Table: 1.54 > Unemployment Rates by ProvinceProvince 2006 2008 2009 2010Sri Lanka 6.5 5.4 5.8 4.9Western 6.7 5.9 4.4 3.7Central 9.0 8.5 6.5 6.7Southern 9.0 8.1 9.4 7.8North Western 6.0 4.3 5.4 4.8North Central 5.6 3.9 4.7 3.6Uva 6.5 5.0 4.6 4.1Sabaragamuwa 6.7 5.2 5.7 4.6Eastern N/A 5.2 7.7 5.3Northern N/A N/A N/A N/ASource: Department of Census and StatisticsTable: 1.55 > Industrial Estates and Industrial VillagesProvince 2009 2010NumberofIndustrialPeoplisedIndustrialVillagesNumberofIndustrialPeopalisedIndustrialVillagesPlots inIndustrialEstatesPlots inIndustrialEstatesWestern 106 09 113 21Central 17 - 18 -North Western 58 33 80 23Southern 18 21 17 16Northern - - - 17North Central - 21 - 13Eastern - - 05 01Sabaragamuwa - 82 33 29Uva - 87 - -Total 199 253 266 120Sources: Ministry of Industries Promotion, Ministry of Traditional Industries andSmall Enterprise Development.111