Impact of foreign contractors on development of Sri-Lankan construction industry through technology transfer

Abstract

Technology Transfer has been a subject of considerable interest to many groups, because of the close relationship between technology transfer and economic growth. It has aroused the interest of academic researchers. Discussions on technology transfer (TT) in construction in the past have mainly focused on technology acquisition during the execution of projects involving an overseas party. The discussions enclosed how effectively the projects were executed and any benefits that accrued to the contracting partners from the foreign contractors. This paper attempts to extend this discussion to the problems and prospects of International Technology Transfer within the domestic construction sector in order to boost domestic capacity. A comprehensive literature survey was conducted to highlight past and present situation of the construction industry, in Sri Lanka. Questionnaire was primarily prepared in the firm of interviewing parties related to the construction industry, by visiting the advisory services and Industry Development division at ICTAD, and interviews with senior officials at ICTAD registration rank C1, C2 and C3 contractors within the Colombo District. The development of a construction industry of a certain country can be enhanced through the involvement of foreign construction firms. However, authors’ initial investigations raised question is, whether the Sri Lankan construction industry is ready to acquire the possible construction technology through foreign firms. This paper identified enablers and barriers of technology transfer and suggested local construction industry to create a suitable condition to acquire construction technology more dynamicaly through foreign firms.