Sri Lanka’s Export Processing Zone in the South becomes major economic centre and key contributor to economy
The Board of Investment’s (BOI) of Sri Lanka has reportedly announced that the Koggala Export Processing Zone (KEPZ) has contributed US$ 122 million dollars worth of exports earnings in 2017 becoming a major economic centre in the South and key contributor to the country’s economy.
The BOI issuing a statement has noted that a majority of the total workforce of 14,070 workers at the KEPZ are women.
According to reports, the Koggala EPZ has been declared a bonded area for hub operations benefiting from access to the Southern Expressway and it is only one and a half hours away from the Hambantota harbour making it attractive to investors who may look at accessing their markets by shipping from Hambantota.
The BOI has noted that the advantages of the Zone for enterprises are the security, lighting, excellent communication as well as power supply and the availability of ground water.
In addition there is a centralized administrative complex linked to the relevant departments of the BOI as well as other important facilities such as customs, banking, postal, medical and port cargo handling services.
The BOI has stated that currently 23 enterprises are located at the Zone and the main sectors represented are the manufacture of garments, plastic figures, footwear as well as aircraft repair and boatbuilding. The zone covers a total extent is of 227 acres, of which 195 acres are dedicated to industrial use and came into operation in 1991.
OSL take:
The geographical placement of the Koggala Export Processing Zone in the southern parts of Sri Lanka as well as the facilities available at the zone makes it an ideal venue for foreign businesses and investors to set up operations targeting overseas markets. Interested foreign entities could check with the BOI whether there are lands available in the Koggala Zone to set up operations.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/20180316/Z_2 |