Sri Lanka’s BOI and SLAMERP looking at setting up Rubber City zone
The Sri Lanka Association of Manufacturers and Exporters of Rubber Industry (SLAMERP) together with Sri Lanka’s Board of Investment (BOI) is reportedly in the process of initiating a new rubber investment zone in Sri Lanka.
SLAMERP Director General Rohan Masakorala has told The Sunday Morning that they have requested the Sri Lankan government for a new investment zone in order to attract foreign investment and to expand the local rubber industry in Sri Lanka.
“This zone will be entirely dedicated to rubber product manufacturing. There is a progression in the plan firstly because the Government and BOI have started looking for an appropriate plot of land in the Western Province and secondly because the private sector rubber companies have started submitting their expansion plans,” Masakorala has said.
BOI Executive Director of Investment Promotion Prasanjith Wijayatilake has told the newspaper that the rubber industry concept is one of the three main concepts BOI is currently working on to be initiated within the year.
“We are looking at the Apparel and Pharmaceutical zone right now. In terms of the Rubber City zone we are looking at two plots in hand, and one will be chosen within this year. However, with the current hindrance due to Covid-19, it could be further delayed,” Wijayatilake has told The Sunday Morning.
However, Wijayatilake has further noted that it is too early to comment on the investments involved with the project as it is still at the concept base.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Minister of Plantation industries Lakshman Wasantha Perera providing a statement on the Sri Lanka Rubber Industry Master Plan 2017-2027 has reportedly stated that the Rubber City project is aimed at enhancing the global competitiveness of rubber products in a timely considering the need for environmental impact mitigation and colocation advantages.
Accordingly, the decision to initiate Rubber City in Sri Lanka has been taken due to the fact that at present, rubber product manufacturers operate from state-owned industrial parks or from their own sites in which such locations do not provide rubber industry-specific common facilities or clustering advantages of co-location in activities such as joint procurement, collaborative R&D, product innovation, common effluent treatment, and HR development, etc.
With the Sri Lanka Rubber Industry Master Plan 2017-2027, the Rubber City will establish a custom-designed rubber industrial park with four zones in a suitable location within the Western Province Megapolis region.
“Zone A will be allocated to large/medium industries based on dry rubber. Zone B will be for latex-based industries. Zone C will cater to SME types and house incubators, innovation systems, common testing, and R&D facilities, HR services including training, Engineering services with central workshops, and finally, Zone D will be for related and supporting industries and services suppliers such as chemical suppliers and mold makers. Solid-waste management and recycling of rubber materials will be done in a special location,” the Master Plan report has stated.
OSL take:
Sri Lanka’s manufacturing and exports sectors have shown great resilience to external and internal challenges throughout the global Covid 19 pandemic. The sectors continued operations through the lockdowns and travel restrictions. Sri Lankan authorities are also focused on promoting and adding value to the traditional export commodities like tea, rubber and spices. It is in this backdrop that the authorities are looking at setting up a rubber city to further develop and expand the industry. Sri Lanka’s geographical positioning in the Indian ocean and the many trade agreements as well as trade concessions enjoyed by the country have helped boost the country’s exports sector. Foreign businesses/investors could therefore explore opportunities in the rubber industry.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/20210524/Z_3 |