4 January 2021 03:10 am
The government will set up a commercial trading hub in Mihintale to cater to ten districts in the northern half of the country while decentralizing the Colombo - based trade monopoly , a Minister said yesterday.
Trade Minister Bandula Gunawardane told Daily Mirror that it would be a multi-purpose trading centre with facilities for wholesale trading of essential items .
He said a landmass adjacent to the Mihintale railway station had been identified for the project .
A discussion with the political leaders representing the district was conducted on Saturday .
Imported essential commodities and other items are planned to be transported to Mihintale by train from Colombo . Besides , the centre will have facilities to purchase the agriculture produce to be dispatched to Colombo by the same transport mode.
Colombo -based importers of essential items will be given land lots to build storage facilities for their goods in Mihintale .
There is 13- kilometre railway link between Anuradhapura and Mihintale.
“Anuradhapura is the first commercial capital of Sri Lanka in ancient history . We will bring back the past glory to the same area by developing it as a commercial centre,” he said. (Kelum Bandara)