Raigam to manufacture PVD salt

by Lalin FERNANDOPULLE

Pure vacuum dry (PVD) salt will be manufactured in Sri Lanka for the first time by Wayamba Salterns (Pvt) Ltd., a member company of the Raigam Group.

The plant which is being installed in Puttalam with an investment of Rs.50 million will commence commercial operation by April next year.

Around 1,200 MT of PVD salt is imported at Rs.50 a kilogram costing approximately Rs.60 million annually to the country. Chairman/CEO, Raigam Group, Dr. Ravi Liyanage said PVD salt has a high-end market segment of hotel and food related industries in the country.

The company plans to start work on the project next month and commence operations as scheduled.The manufacture of PVD salt will be a huge saving on the country's foreign exchange and will begin a new chapter in the salt industry.

PVD technology assures 100 percent purity of the salt which is dissolved, purified and recrystallised by the vacuum evaporation method.

Dr. Liyanage said with the commencement of the PVD plant import of PVD salt will be drastically reduced.Raigam, the first to manufacture crystallised table salt in the country will set up its second salt refinery factory at Bata-Atha in Tangalle, under its subsidiary Southern Salt Company (Pvt) Ltd. shortly.

The company plans to produce 30,000 MT of free flow table salt per annum through the factory which will be set up with an initial investment of Rs.300 million.