North, East salterns to resume production

L. S. Ananda WEDAARACHCHI

The North and Eastern province salterns which supplied over fifty per cent of the country's salt requirement in 1970's will recommence salt production shortly.

Under the instructions of the Minister of Industrial Development, Kumara Welgama, Kumburupitiya, Nilaveli and Mampai salterns in the Eastern province and the Elephantpass saltern in the Northern province have been visited by technical teams headed by the Additional Secretary of the Ministry said the Secretary to the Ministry of Industrial Development R. V. D. Piyatileka.

He said engineers of the government owned Mampai saltern in Mannar had completed the expansions project of the Nilavali, Kuburupitiya and Mampai salterns.

A salt harvest of twenty thousand Metric Tonnes can be produced from the salterns in Yala and Maha seasons, he said.

The Elephantpass saltern was the biggest government slattern in the country.

It was not properly managed during the armed conflict with the LTTE. The government will take all necessary precautions to develop the saltern and improve its annual salt production, of 50,000 metric tonnes, he said.

The Chairman of Raigam Group Dr. Ravi Liyanage said that his group had submitted a feasibility report to develop the Nilavali and Kuburupitiya saltens in Trincomalee.The major-single shareholder of the Puttalam salts Ltd., Raigam Group Chairman said one third of the country's salt requirement was imported from India, last year."After the tsunami, the pattern of the rainfall had changed in the Southern province and it had affected the Yala season salt harvest. It is vital to improve the existing salterns in the country to meet the country's requirement, he said.Sri Lanka which exported salt in the seventees imported 40,000 M.T. of salt last year costing US$ 4 million.

After the privatisation of the salt industry and LTTE terror activities in the North and East salt production declined.

The Hambantota saltern and Puttalam saltern, the two major salterns in the south are being successfully operated by the present managements.

The present salt production of those salterns are not sufficient for the country's salt requirement.