§ 78. Sir D. Gammansasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty how many Ceylonese are employed directly or indirectly at the base at Trincomalee; and what is the estimated annual cost to the British taxpayer of maintaining this base.
§ Mr. Wingfield DigbyApproximately 4,800 Ceylonese are directly employed at the Trincomalee Naval Base itself. 1,000 others are employed by the Admiralty elsewhere in the island. It is not possible to make an accurate estimate of the number of Ceylonese who obtain indirect employment from the activities of the naval base, but it must be very large. The annual cost of maintaining the base and other establishments is approximately £2½m.