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| Sunday, 19 February 2006 |
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STC to set up Wood Craftsmen's training centre by L. S. A. Wedaarachchi The State Timber Corporation (STC) has taken steps to stop the transport of valuable timber from forestry areas to areas beyond Vavuniya. As directed by STC recently no timber can be transported beyond Vavuniya. Issuing of "wayside permits" which racketeers used as a legal permit to transport valuable timber from forestry areas to other parts of the country specially timber saw mills in Moratuwa have been stopped forthwith. Timber is considered as one of the prime requirements of the furniture manufacturing and building construction industry. During the last three decades timber prices had gone up sharply. A big scarcity of popular brands of grade one timber such as Jak, Teak, Satin, Kubuk existed in the timber market and Sri Lanka commenced importing timber from Malaysia, and Indonesia. Building manufacturers and furniture industrialists also switch to alternative raw materials such as steel and plastics in spite of grade one timber. When the Sunday Observer Moneyline contacted the chairman of the State Timber Corporation S. A. Premaratna said, even at present Sri Lanka is rich in timber resources to meet the country's requirements, if it is being managed wisely. "One of the prime objectives of setting up a State institution for timber was to manage the country's timber resources wisely but unfortunately it was not fulfilled. Under the guidance of the present Minister in charge of the Timber Corporation Maithripala Sirisena, Minister of Agriculture Land Irrigation and Environment, the Timber Corporation which employs 2,900 employees aims at becoming a financially viable government institution, he said. "A plan has been prepared and accordingly arrangements will be made for management development, organisational development and productivity development of the Corporation. The target turnover for 2006 is Rs. 2,200 million, he said. The Timber Corporation works very closely with the Environmental Ministry and the Forest Conservation Department. Having considered the prime objective of the corporation a well planned program of forest recultivation will be launched in association with these government organisations in the near future. "Our aim is to cultivate valuable trees and not to destroy the forest resource of the country, he said. Speaking on the marketing activities of the corporation the chairman called upon customers to place their timber orders with the corporation and assured that the prices are reasonable and that the timber will be delivered in time. The STC is willing to purchase valuable timber such as Teak, Jak and Satin from individuals or organisations or companies. Having 30 timber depots, 14 regional offices and nine saw mills all over the island the STC is fully equipped to purchase, cut and remove the unnecessary or matured trees from the lands within a short timeframe. Whatever the requirement the STC is able to supply the timber needs of the people. Sri Lanka has its own prestigious timber craftsmanship and timber creations. The Ambakke temple is a fine example of it. The STC is determined to help improve local timber craftsmanship. The STC plans to improve the export market of timber creations which enjoys a fair size of the furniture and gift export market. According to the STC's accelerated development plan the wood craftsmen vocational training centre will be established in Polonnaruwa to train timber craftsmen. It is expected to conduct a one-year inhouse program in the preliminary stage. According to the STC chairman the demand for sleepers due to the new railway track to Kataragama and Avissawella - Padukka has increased sharply. The Railway Department needs 175,000 sleepers this year while the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) needs 60,000 transmission poles. The chairman is confident that the corporation will be able to meet all the orders of government organisations such as the Railway Department and CEB in time this year. |
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