The Government has decided to wind up or restructure 11 loss-making State enterprises which completely depended on the Treasury for salary payments and maintenance at a cost of Rs 506.2 m. annually.
The institutions are the Kantale Sugar Industries Ltd, National Paper Company Ltd (Embilipitiya Paper Mills), Ceramics Corporation, Rubber Manufacturing and Export Corporation (RMEC), BCC Lanka, Lanka Salusala, Building Materials Corporation, CWE State Trading Company Ltd, Lakdiva Engineering Co. Ltd, Elkaduwa Plantation Pvt. Ltd and Sathosa Retail Ltd. Among them six are not fully operational entities.
The government will lease out six out of these loss-making enterprises on a 30-year term under a redevelop and revive plan, a senior Finance Ministry official said. Only the immovable and movable assets of the failed ventures will be leased out while the total ownership will remain with the government, State Resources and Enterprise Development Ministry Secretary Willie Gamage told the Business Times.
“The leasing out of these ventures including the Ceramic Corporation, RMEC, Kantale Sugar and the Embilipitiya Paper Mill with assets valued at over Rs.10 billion is only the beginning of this initiative,” he said. The Treasury doles out Rs. 14.3 million per month to pay salaries of workers of the Ceramics Corporation, Kantale Sugar and the Embilipitiya Mill. The RMEC is now defunct, he disclosed.
A Compulsory Retirement Scheme (CRS) will be presented to 1,000 employees under the restructuring programme as the employees of Ceramics Corporation opposed the Voluntary Retirement Scheme. A Cabinet Paper will be prepared soon for this purpose.
Some 38 investors have forwarded applications responding to the Ministry’s Request for Proposals (RFPs) with 28 interested in Kantale Sugar and 10 in the Embilipitiya Mill, Mr .Gamage said. Six foreign investors have expressed interest in the Ceramics Corporation and 11 in the RMEC, he revealed. |
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