Country set to achieve double digit growth - Dr. Amunugama

The country's economy is set to achieve double digit growth in the next couple of years with the inflow of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and local investment expected to exceed US$ 2.5 billion this year, said Enterprise Development and Investment Promotion Minister Dr. Sarath Amunugama.

Dr. Amunugama was speaking at a ceremony to present approval letters to investors for 50 projects at the Board of Investment (BOI) in Colombo.

He said the BOI approved over 170 projects this year. The Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) and Dialog Telekom will invest over US$ 500 million.

The SLT has planned to invest US$ 225 million on a telecommunication expansion project while Dialog Telekom has agreed to invest US$ 300 million on a mega project next week.

The BOI's job is not to advise against risks but to ensure that projects are implemented without delay. The over the counter approval mechanism will help fast track implementation of projects and unlike in the past investors will not have to wait for six to seven months to get clearance, Dr. Amunugama said. The Minister said the Indian BOI has set deadlines for investors to implement projects. As fast as applications are processed projects should get off the ground.

If a project is not implemented according to the stipulated time it will be cancelled. Investments need to be channelled to sectors such as garments and textiles, tourism and IT, gem and jewellery, cut flower, pharmaceutical, retail marketing, health and education which are the thrust areas. The IT sector which drove a Rs. 200 billion market last year should be made a US$ 1 billion program, he said.

Dr. Amunugama said that certain corrupt rules and regulations in the gem and jewellery industry are the major barriers to develop the industry and that he will abolish such practices.

Development could be fast tracked only through the vibrant private sector which has been the engine of growth and the sustaining force of the economy. Entrepreneurship values need to be introduced to the public sector to instill more vigour in it, the Minister said.

BOI Chairman Dhammika Perera said he was confident that more investments would flow into the country and assured the business community that Sri Lanka is a secure country to invest and do business.

The cumulative value of the approved projects amounts to Rs. 58,034 million of which Rs. 24,626 million is foreign investment and Rs. 33,407 million is local. Over 8,000 employment opportunities will be created by the projects.

The projects approved represent sectors such as housing and property development, shopping and office complexes, call centres and BPOs, computer development, hotels, restaurants, IT related services, export import trading houses, power generation plants, building materials and garment accessories.

The agreement with SLT-Mobitel for the Stage 3 GSM and 3G expansion project and the Bharti Air Tel India agreement where the investor will construct, operate and maintain a digital cellular mobile communication system were the three key investments of the agreements reached with the BOI.

LF