Sri Lanka’s BOI and Coast Conservation Department to speed up approval processes for tourism and mineral sands mining
Sri Lanka’s investment promotion agency, the Board of Investments (BOI) and the Coast Conservation and Coastal Resources Management Department are reportedly working closely together to speed up approvals for investments. The tie up is expected to be focused mainly on the tourism and mineral sands mining sectors.
The BOI has reportedly stated that it has signed an agreement with Coast Conservation and Coastal Resources Management Department to enhance investor facilitation.
The agreement “is very significant as approvals by this body are vital for projects in the tourism sector and also those related to the mining of mineral sands,” the BOI has said in a statement.
The Coast Conservation and Coastal Resources Management Department is the 13th state body to sign agreements under the Single Window Investment Facilitation Task force (SWIFT) of the BOI.
SWIFT aims to fast-track investments through a virtual one stop shop, the statement has further noted.
All agencies in SWIFT are connected through an online connection which makes it possible to act on a project proposal without the requirement of officials being physically present at the BOI.
“This is particularly crucial since some projects may require up to 14 approvals or permits and any investor who would have to physically go to all these Ministries would be deterred by the excessive bureaucracy involved,” the BOI statement has noted.
“The BOI therefore is confident that the continual development and implementation of SWIFT would encourage investors to invest in Sri Lanka as the process is considerably simplified and the new system would also provide greater information and additionally be much more transparent. Agencies that sign the SWIFT agreement are agreeable to grant approval to investors within a short time frame,” the BOI has added.
OSL take:
The tie up between Sri Lanka’s BOI and the Coast Conservation Department would help expedite projects in the fields of tourism and mineral sands mining. The BOI has already tied up with a number of state institutions and is expected to form similar links with the remaining state institutions as well. This is a positive sign on the Sri Lankan government’s commitment to further improve the ease of doing business environment in the country. Foreign businesses/investors could explore business/investment opportunities in Sri Lanka given the measures taken by the state to create an investor friendly environment in the country.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/28012019/Z_2 |