SWIAC replaces Agency for Development
View(s):With the Development (Special Provisions) Bill being a non-event through its rejection by all nine provincial councils in 2016, the government has introduced a new mechanism to deal with all major investment projects in a professional and transparent manner, a top official revealed.
The ‘Agency for Development’ which was to be set up under the provisions of the bill to fast-track, streamline and attract Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) as a one stop shop for FDIs with powers to obtain approvals of relevant agencies for foreign investors, has became null and void, he said.
Mangala Yapa, Managing Director designate of the agency at that time and now a member of the board of directors of Board of Investment (BOI), told the Business Times, that instead of the Agency for Development, a Single Window Investment Approval Committee (SWIAC) was established to evaluate and approve large scale investments and fast-track approval.
This committee, chaired by the Secretary to the Treasury Dr. R.H.S Samaratunga, has held 31 meetings in which a total of 54 large scale projects have been processed and 26 projects approved since 2016.
Five of these projects have been deferred due to various reasons including insufficient information provided, or issues relating to policy decisions, he said. Projects approved by SWIAC are referred to an Investment Facilitation Committee (IFC) chaired by an Advisor to the Prime Minister, R. Paskaralingam to fast-track the external approvals/clearances, etc to prevent existing bottlenecks hampering projects, he pointed out. (BS)