Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe today (Jun 10) told saw mill owners that the government would extend its fullest support to enhance the carpentry industry.
In a meeting with saw mill owners from Moratuwa, the Prime Minister also insisted that Sri Lanka’s forest cover which stands at 28 percent must also be increased.
The Prime Minister’s remarks came in the wake of President Maithripala Sirisena’s statements that the government would stop issuing licenses for saw mills and carpentry workshops in future.
However, Mr. Wickremesinghe said the President had implied that the amount of forest cover would decrease if the rate of chainsaw machines and mobile carpentry workshops keep increasing.
During the meeting, the Prime Minister had conceded that several financial, technical, and trade issues will have to be encountered while improving the saw mill trade.
He had also said that the circular concerning the sawmill industry will be re-issued after making certain amendments.
The Prime Minister had recounted that a programme which was implemented to uplift the trade of carpentry in 2003 could not be carried out successfully. “Therefore, we would implement this programme again,” he noted.
Mr. Wickremesinghe pointed out that the required knowledge on this industry could be obtained through the Apprenticeship Training Institute (ATI) at the Moratuwa University.
On the same lines, he had stressed that this knowledge must be shared with other countries in a bid to develop the trade.
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