Sri Lanka expedites Volkswagen assembly plant
View(s):Sri Lanka will expedite the setting up of a Volkswagen automobile assembly plant in Kuliyapitya considering it as high priority under the new government, officials said. Although it has been planned to commence operations within a time span of two years following the signing of the agreement recently between the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka and M/s Senok Automobile (Pvt) Ltd and Volkswagen AG, the local company plans to launch the project as early as possible with the assistance of the authorities, Gerard Fernando, Senok Managing Director told the Business Times.
This joint venture has been on the cards since 2011 but was stalled because the ousted Rajapaksa regime demanded bribes and commissions to approve investments, Eran Wickramaratne told the media when he held the Deputy Investment Promotion Ministerial portfolio a couple of months ago. The plant will assemble 1000 cc to 2000 cc category diesel powered vehicles including passenger cars, Sport Utility Vehicles, Multi Utility Vehicles and commercial vehicles.
Initially these vehicles would be marketed locally for three years and thereafter also manufactured for export to markets including Pakistan, Bangladesh and the African continent, Mr. Fernando revealed. There is also a potential for export vehicles which would be petrol/electric/ hybrid vehicles to be built without the concessions that have been given for assembling diesel vehicles. The total value of this project will be an investment of US$26.5 million of which $21.5 million will be in fixed assets within a period of 24 months. VW Germany’s investment would be $21million, he said.