Exclusive-Sri Lanka's prime minister says will slash expenditure in new budget

People wait in a line to buy domestic gas tanks near a distributor, amid the country's economic crisis, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, May 24, 2022. REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's new Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Tuesday he will present an interim budget within six weeks, slashing down on infrastructure projects and re-routing funds into a two-year relief programme for the crisis-hit island nation.

"With the interim budget, it is just about cutting down expenditure, cutting to the bone where possible and transferring it to welfare," Wickremesinghe, who took office two weeks ago, said in an interview.