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Govt. set to revive US$ 6 billion worth of shelved BoI projects
The Government will revive 235 foreign and local projects with a potential investment of US$ 6 billion that the Board of Investment (BOI) put on hold during the past few years, Investment Promotion State Minister Eran Wickremaratne told the Sunday Times.
Mr. Wickremaratne said that some of the projects had been put on hold for minor reasons such as to prevent them from importing certain accessories needed for the project.
“The projects had been placed on a negative list. Some of the officials claim that the projects had been put on hold as the imports may affect local companies or production,” Mr. Wickremaratne said.
He said a close study of the list showed that the imports were required for certain projects, such as the hotel industry and mixed development projects.
He said that in addition, it is hoped to provide more tax concessions to attract investors.
“We are hoping to attract more investors in this manner,” Mr. Wickremaratne said.He said the former government had reduced concessions given through the BOI as it had implemented a Strategic Development Project Act and given concessions to projects under this Act.
“The former government negotiated projects according to its requirements without any transparency and granted approval,” he said.