BOI now set to fast track projects

The time taken to process an application has been reduced to one day and the number of papers in the form reduced to one will help implement projects faster, said Enterprise Development and Investment Promotion Minister Dr. Sarath Amunugama.

He was speaking at a ceremony to present letters of approval for 119 BOI projects last week in Colombo. He said the focus today is on implementation and achieving targets and not on clearance as in the past.

Delaying projects is a loss to the economy and if there is no mechanism to speed up the implementation process prospective investors will seek other options, the Minister said.

Implementing projects and making them commercially viable without delay is the need of the hour.

The BOI has been criticised for its inefficiency and the time taken to process an application.

Many projects had been abandoned due to the time factor and the complexity of the application process.

A project to be approved by the BOI takes over six months and the number of papers in the application has been a drawback for investors.

The new BOI chairman Dhammika Perera who assumed duties last week pledged to transform the BOI into an efficient and investor friendly institution.

He said the institution will be a one-stop-shop for investors with a new working environment where there will be no delays in approving projects.

Questions were also raised at the media briefing as to how the Ministry could achieve its US$ 4 billion target this year when there is no conducive investment climate due to the security situation in the country.

Housing and property development, hotels, restaurant services and entertainment complexes, education, healthcare, apparel and agriculture were some of the projects approved.

The total investment of the approved projects is Rs. 209,000 million providing direct employment to over 27,000 people.

(LF)