Sri Lanka’s BOI signs 37 new ventures from logistics to IT

June 15, 2016 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Board of Investment said they entered into 37 new investment agreements during the period of April to May 2016 with a total estimated investment of 579 million US dollars that will generate 6,000 direct employments opportunities. The newly established one stop shop has made it easy to invest in Sri Lanka by providing an effective and convenient single point of contact for investors in terms of realizing investment in Sri Lanka. As per the BOI details, published below are the new agreements signed during April to May that covers a range of sectors. Apartment Complexes As Colombo develops further under the Megapolis programme which is the blueprint of Government’s development strategy the demand for apartments will correspondingly increase. Hence 9 agreements have been signed to set up new apartment complexes. Fairwar Urban Homes (Pvt) Ltd, Iconic Development (Pvt) Ltd, S T K Developers (Pvt) Ltd, Menara Residencies (Pvt) Ltd, Capital Tower (Pvt) Ltd, Elysian Reality (Pvt) Ltd, U K Lanka Developers (Pvt) Ltd, Makro Developers (Pvt) Ltd and P U W Towers will set up new housing complexes in Colombo. The estimated value of investment is US$ 230 Million Logistics Sri Lanka’s logistics industry’s contribution to national GDP is currently estimated to be around 3% and is targeted to contribute at least 10% by 2020. Sri Lanka is thriving to become the logistics hub in South Asia. Sri Lanka’s sea ports and airports with increasing cargo handling capacity and the air and sea connectivity are key strengths to attract investment in this field. A total number of 4 new agreements have been signed representing investments of US $ 85 Million. These projects include a variety of services such as feeder services, marine Services, entrepot trading, off-shore businesses, front end and headquarter operations and others. Mini Hydro Power plants A key area of investment is in power generation as it enhances the capacity of the country. Four new agreements have been signed in April – May 2016 to set up Mini Hydropower projects in various parts of the country such as Dehiattakandiya, Demodara, Soranathota and Walapane. Vidula Biomass (Pvt) Ltd, Ino Mini Hydro Power (Pvt) Ltd, Udawela Hydro (Pvt) Ltd and Biomed Hydro Power (Pvt) Ltd have obtained BOI approval to set up Mini Hydro PowerPlant projects. The electricity generated by these Mini power Plants will be supplied to the National Grid to address the growing electricity demand in the country. Tourism & Leisure The new projects in tourism strengthen a sector where Sri Lanka already has a strong competitive advantage. Four new agreements were signed to set up hotel projects with an investment of US $ 69 Million. Saracawatta (Pvt) Ltd, Saif Estate (Pvt) Ltd, Sofia Kandy (Pvt) Ltd and Casa De Hotel & Resorts (Pvt) Ltd have obtained BOI approvals to set up their hotels in Hikkaduwa, Bandarawela, Peradeniya and Wennappuwa respectably. These four new hotel projects will help the Government to achieve its target to build 75,000 rooms to cater to 4 million tourist arrivals by 2020. Apparel Two new agreements were signed to set up garments and related manufacturing projects with an investment of US $ 15 Million. A total number of 1300 direct job opportunities will be created through these two projects. EAM Maliban Textiles (Pvt) Ltd and Yyonne Lanka (Pvt) Ltd will set up to produce garments and garment accessories. IT / BPO Sri Lanka is gaining global recognition as a Centre for delivering IT as well as an emerging knowledge services industry. Hence new projects in Information Technology and Business Process Outsourcing strengthen the local IT sector. Western Solution (Pvt) Ltd and L S E G Business Services Colombo (Pvt) Ltd will set up projects to develop software and provide Information Technologyenable services and to provide Business Processing Outsourcing services for international market. Agriculture Two agriculture projects have obtained approvals during April – May. M/s Japan Lanka Agriculture Industrial Research & Training Centre (Pvt) Ltd will set up a project to cultivate high quality vegetables for the export market and also establish an agriculture training institute in Divulapitiya. M/s Value Plantation (Pvt) Ltd will set up a project to produce value added tea for the export market. The total estimated investment would be US $ 14 Million. Mixed Development Three agreements were signed to set up Mixed Development projects in Colombo investing US $ 144 Million. Blue Mountain Colombo (Pvt) Ltd, A O D Properties (Pvt) Ltd and M S A Shamsudeen Development (Pvt) Ltd haveobtained BOI approvals in this sector. Trading Houses D & A Apparel Trading (Pvt) Ltd signed to set up trading house to export garments and other textile products. M/s Star Garments Group (Pvt) Ltd signed to set up an export trading house to export Sri Lankan non-traditional products and to provide with designing services. The total investment of these two projects would be US $ 7 Million. M/s Bhagya Hospital (Pvt) Ltd signed an agreement to set up and operate a hospital in Mahiyanganaya with an investment of US $ 3.8 Million. M/s Farmchem Manufacturers (Pvt) Ltd signed an agreement to set up a project to manufacture veterinary pharmaceuticals for export market. This project representingan investment of US $ 4.5 Million will be located at the Industrial Zone, Homagama. Another enterprise M/s Batticaloa Campus Limited signed an agreement to set up a Higher education Institute in Batticaloa. When these projects are realized, they will contribute very significantly to the development of the Sri Lankan economy by boosting exports, increasing foreign exchange reserves, creating new employment opportunities and transferring technology.