Lanka to achieve US $ 1.5b FDI target
By Gamini Warushamana
FDI inflow had exceeded $ 1 billion by September 15 and therefore,
Sri Lanka will achieve this year's FDI target of US $ 1.5 billion, said
Minister of Investment Promotion Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena at the
signing of the agreement to launch Royal Asian Cruses (RAC) in Colombo
last week.
RAC is a US $ 33 million investment with a target to expand over the
next couple of years. The investor is a Sri Lankan expatriate Sivakumar
Sinnarajah, Chairman and Managing Director of Royal Asian Cruise.
Minister Abeywardena said this investment is a milestone in the
tourism industry because it opens new vistas for the expansion of the
sector. It has been growing at a rapid pace after the end of terrorism
in 2009 and during the first half of the year there has been a 26
percent growth in tourist arrivals.
"We finalised and signed the agreement within six weeks after
Treasury approval because we have removed bottlenecks at the BOI and if
approvals from other agencies are received without delay, the BOI can
approve investments fast," the Minister said.
Sivakumar Sinnarajah said, “As a Sri Lankan I am proud to be back in
my homeland and invest in a large scale project of this nature. It gives
me pleasure in knowing that Sri Lanka is a safe country conducive for
investment.
"This venture will have direct and indirect benefits on the economy,
beginning from provisioning service to local business," he said.
"Having a cruise liner will be a pride to the country and from next
year the first cruise vessel will be launched and will bring 800
tourists to Sri Lanka every week,” Sinnarajah said.
According to the expansion plan, additional cruise vessels will be
added to the fleet to increase weekly passenger capacity to 2,000. The
project will create around 350 direct employment opportunities. |