Plans afoot to allocate 50,000 acres of suitable land for industries: Industries Ministry

Colombo, September 2 (Daily Mirror) - Plans are in place to allocate 50,000 acres of suitable land for industries across the island, Ministry of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development said.

This was revealed during the meeting of the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Economic Development and International Relations held recently in Parliament under the Chairmanship of MP Lakmali Hemachandra.

The Committee recommended that a report be submitted, in consultation with the Land Reforms Commission, the Urban Development Authority and the Sri Lanka Export Development Board, on the steps that could be taken and the future plan in this regard.

The Secretary to the Ministry of Industries and Entrepreneurship Development pointed out that several issues, including the allocation of land to investors according to existing procedures, have persisted for a long time and that the process of allocating land for a new industry could take more than four years.

The Secretary also said that, according to international concepts, generally 3% of a country’s land area should be allocated for industries, whereas in Sri Lanka this figure stands at only 0.01%.

It was also discussed that in the past, land was not allocated for industries in accordance with a national plan, but rather due to political or other reasons, resulting in various problematic situations.