Assembly plants to be set up:
Vehicle manufacturers eye H'tota
by Shirajiv SIRIMANE
Four international vehicle manufacturing companies are keen to set up
assembly plants at the new Magampura Harbour in Hambantota. Sri Lanka
Ports Authority (SLPA) chairman Dr. Priyath Wickrama said that this
includes Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) of India. M&M which manufactured
army vehicles earlier is now a major automobile and tractor
manufacturer. It has plants in China and the United Kingdom, and has
three assembly plants in the USA.
M&M has partnerships with international companies such as Renault SA,
France and International Truck and Engine Corporation, USA.
Dr. Wickrama said that a top official of the Group who met President
Mahinda Rajapaksa in Sri Lanka recently highlighted investment
opportunities in Sri Lanka. “They are also keen on making investments in
Magampura including developing a Special Economic Zone in Hambantota,”
he said.
The Chairman said Magampura has been declared a free port and this
would encourage investors and they could do value addition and re-export
from the same venue.
“There has also been tremendous response from the local private
sector for business at the Hambantota Port and several delegations have
already visited the Port,” he said.
He said that apart from the vehicle assembly sector there would also
be opportunities for investments in fertiliser, food processing and
cement manufacture and for various other assembly plants.
There would be opportunities in the ship-repairing sector too after
the second stage is completed, he said.
Stage two of the Magampura Port project will commence by the end of
next month and will be completed in three-and-a-half years.
The SLPA chairman said that the investment on this project would be
US $ 600 million and they are currently negotiating for funds.
“Investors are happy over the progress of the first stage and raising
funds would not pose a problem,” he said.
The second stage would add six more berths to the three berths at
present.
It is anticipated that over 20,000 employment opportunities would be
created in the area after the second stage is completed. This would be
in addition to over 25,000 indirect employment opportunities.
He also said that the SLPA would go online from January next year and
this would help customers in a big way.
Wickrama said that this would also reduce documentation time and
would also help customers make payments via the internet.
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