About 300 engineers are already making arrangements to leave the country due to heavy taxes imposed by the government, Association of Public Service Engineers (APSE) President S. P. C. Sugeeshwara said.

Speaking to the media, he said that the total number of engineers in the government service was 1,536, of which 436 have already left the country.

He warned that the engineering service in Sri Lanka will face a serious crisis from mid-2023 and the development activities including construction of roads, irrigation canals and buildings especially belonging to provincial councils and local governments will be hampered by about 50%.

He pointed out that engineers have decided to leave the country due to unfair taxes, increased interest rates for bank loans, unbearably high prices of essential consumer goods, and increased prices of medicines.

He said that there is a risk of complete collapse of large-scale constructions from next year due to the shortage of engineers. “It is also uncertain whether those who left the country will send foreign exchange into the country, which will lead to a setback in achieving the government’s target,” he said.

Mr. Sugeeshwara said that some engineers are preparing to leave the country with their families including their children in order to give them better education.