Sri Lankan Minister says country to enter fourth industrial revolution with Homagama Technology City project
Sri Lanka’s Minister of Megapolis and Western Development Patali Champika Ranawake has reportedly said the country is now entering the fourth industrial revolution phase with the Homagama Technology City project making use of emerging science and technology to serve citizens, society and the public at large.
Time is opportune for the country to enter into the fourth industrial revolution phase which incorporates a wide spectrum of technological advances across the value-chain, Minister Ranawake has told the Business Times.
With the introduction of smart technologies in local factories and workplaces, connected machines will interact, visualise the entire production chain and make decisions in parallel, he has told the local media outlet.
The Homagama Tech City being built on 450 acres will promote artificial intelligence, distributed computing, robotics, genetics, Internet of things, nanotech, 3D printing, and bio-engineering, the Minister has said.
The total investment of the project will be in the region of Rs.19.3 billion or US$ 130 million, he has added.
According to the Minister, these industry 4.0 technologies will be revolutionising the traditional manufacturing process helping solve diverse challenges locally and globally.
Technology faculties of Colombo, Moratuwa and Sri Jayawardenapura, Nano technology institute, the Department of Measurement Units, Standards and Services and a Research and Development Institute will be established at the Tech City, the media report has stated.
Knowledge Services sector which encompasses IT software development, Knowledge Process Outsourcing/Business Process Outsourcing industry, Nano technology, bio technology, Geographic Information Systems and Data Centres, has tremendous potential to emerge as key growth sectors in Sri Lanka, he added. Sri Lanka will be branded as a fast emerging South Asian Knowledge Services Hub for selected niche areas, making critical infrastructure such as electricity cost competitive, providing attractive tax concessions, the report has added.
The government of Sri Lanka is to take measures to encourage the development of infrastructure such as IT parks that will promote software companies are some of the progressive steps that may be needed to ensure the rapid development of the sector.
“There are several other important ICT areas such as Datafication, Big data analysis, and Financial Portfolio analysis that deserve our special attention. Sri Lankan companies may take advantage of this trend either undertaking outsourced jobs or entering into joint ventures with the well-established organisations,” Minister Ranawake has further noted.
OSL take:
Sri Lanka has recorded an impressive growth in the fields of ICT and digital infrastructure development. The government of Sri Lanka has adopted a policy of promoting these two sectors and the proposed Homagama Technology City is one such programme. The continuous growth in these fields have resulted in the expansion of business/investment opportunities in Sri Lanka’s ICT, infrastructure development as well as higher education sectors.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/17072019/Z_8 |