Rs.12.8 b proposal from Poland for organic fertiliser production in Sri Lanka
View(s):The Colombo Commercial Fertilizers Ltd (CCFL) has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Polish venture capital firm Regina Purpurea Fundus (RPF) this week, to establish preliminary parameters to form a joint venture for an organic fertiliser manufacturing operation in Sri Lanka.
The statement from CCFL said that RPF intends to design, finance, build and operate the large-scale project with a total investment of Rs.12.8 billion, with “proof of availability of funds”.
This public-private partnership (PPP) was formalised in the presence of Minister of Agriculture Mahindananda Aluthgamage, Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, Prof. Udith K. Jayasinghe, State Minister Shasheendra Rajapaksa and Secretary to the State Minister M. N. Ranasinghe. The MoU was signed by Polish entrepreneur Hubert Drabik, Founder and President of the Board of Regina Purpurea Fundus, and Chairman of Colombo Commercial Fertilizers Ltd Methsiri Wijegunawardana, the local fertiliser firm said in a media release.
“Colombo Commercial Fertilizers Ltd is a state owned organisation with a 150-year legacy of quality and excellence,” said Shasheendra Rajapaksa, State Minister of Agriculture. “The mission of the CCFL is to provide superior fertiliser to farmers across Sri Lanka, and has hard earned the trust and loyalty of local farmers by ensuring the delivery of benchmarked quality fertiliser to meet their needs,” he added.
RPF is a Polish venture capital consortium working with development-oriented governments and organisations to invest in a wide range of initiatives aimed at sustainable economic growth both domestically and internationally. Established in 2004 as a family foundation with a mission to support entrepreneurs across municipal and social economy as well as commercial business development, RPF is supported by the Polish Ministry of Agriculture, the Polish Chamber of Commerce, and a number of state banks of Poland.
The RPF operation will be strategically spread out across four plants in Trincomalee, Monaragala, Anuradhapura and Hunupitiya, supported by a state-of-the-art testing and certifying laboratory, and will contractually produce an annual capacity of 200,000 metric tons of organic fertiliser for CCFL on an exclusive basis. The organic waste input for production will be provided by CCFL.
“We commend Sri Lanka’s bold approach to sustainably transition into organic agriculture under the visionary leadership of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, and are grateful for this opportunity to establish preliminary parameters in what promises to be a mutually beneficial partnership,” Mr. Drabik said.
A comprehensive due diligence investigation of the investment proposal and funding capacity will be carried out by CCFL with mutual cooperation from the RPF within the next two weeks, followed by cabinet approval of the project. All parties will then enter into a more comprehensive Joint Venture Agreement with detailed conditions mutually agreed upon within three weeks.