Lakshmi De Silva - The Government will establish two new Free Trade Zones in the North and East - one will be in the Kilinochchi District and the other in the Trincomalee District, Enterprise Development, Investment Promotion and Mass Media and Information Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa told the Daily News yesterday.
Tax holidays for 15 years and other incentives would be offered to the investors who start industries in the North and East while the local residents would gain employment opportunities from these FTZs. Two Sri Lankan investors have already indicated their willingness to start a cement factory and a fertilizer factory, he said.
Though the FTZs were started as far back as 1978, the total foreign direct investments made up to 2005 was only 2,700 million US Dollars.
It was on an average around US$ 100 million per year but from 2005 to 2008 direct foreign investments had reached the 2,800 million dollar mark which is a great achievement, he said "We are a government that encourages the private sector and the BOI had initiated steps to approve new enterprises and now a total of 500,000 persons are directly employed in the FTZs and a large number of persons have also received indirect employment and we are heading for a brighter economic future," he said.
© Ceylon Daily News
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