Addressing investors’ concerns at Biyagama Zone

The Board of Investment of Sri Lanka recently sought to address the issues and challenges faced at the Biyagama Export Processing Zone.

Investment Promotion Minister Dr Sarath Amungama and BOI Chairman/ Director General Dhammika Perera spoke to investors and media at a discussion inside the zone.

Dr Amunugama said many of the investor community's concerns on the supply of water would be attended to as the Water Board had undertaken to ensure that the BOI's two reservoirs at the BEPZ would be filled.

A Cabinet Paper would be submitted soon to ensure that all projects relating to water supply would be finalized. Water is a particularly important issue at the BEPZ where there are 59 enterprises of which 18 are water-based industries.

China
The minister also said some 1,000 Chinese entrepreneurs were considering relocating in Sri Lanka and were ready to invest US$ 250,000 or more. Their interest was in a dedicated Export Processing Zone for Chinese investors and had expressed interest in obtaining from Sri Lankan authorities a social passport type document on the lines of what had been offered to them by South Africa.

The BEPZ is currently the second most important export processing zone of the BOI located on a sprawling facility of 450 acres, which includes some of the most modern industrial plants in Sri Lanka.