MAHAVILACHCHIYA, Anuradhapura - Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO) is a growing business globally which Sri Lanka has now cottoned onto quite capably.Dozens of BPO’s are springing up here as global companies look for cost effective ways of handling their back-office operations in countries where labour and communications are cheaper than the west.

The world’s first eco friendly fabric and apparel manufacturing zone began business in Thulhiriya in north central Sri Lanka on Friday. Fabric manufacturing is known as a polluting industry but on Friday the MAS Fabric Park went public as the world’s first fabric and apparel manufacturing zone based on an eco-friendly blueprint.

Do you know how much water costs us? A mere six cents per litre, according to Water Board officials.National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB) Deputy General Manager Laxman Attanayake says a ton of water equivalent to one cubic metre of water costs only six rupees to the consumer and reiterated the importance of conserving water.

An economic slowdown that has affected construction companies has led to industry professionals marketing their skills overseas in a bid to stay in business.Surath Wickramasinghe, President of the Chamber of Construction Industry (CCI) told The Sunday Times FT that a 25-member chamber delegation is joining Ministers Prof. G. L. Peiris and Rajitha Senaratne to Qatar and Dubai in early November for discussions on marketing Sri Lankan construction skills.