Saudi-based firm to invest in Sri Lanka free zone

A leading Saudi-based company is to establish a free zone in the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka with a US $ 1.2 billion investment, news reports from Middle East said.

According to Arab News, Gammon Middle East, a leading free zone industrial infrastructure development group, has entered into an agreement with Sri Lanka to this end, and the project is expected to attract over US $ 10 billion foreign investments to the country. 

“We expect investment of at least US $10 billion in the free zone by companies in India, China, Canada, Europe and Australia. The free-zone will also create 15,000 new job opportunities for Sri Lankan citizens,” Gammon Group Chairman Shaikh Rafik Mohammed was quoted as saying to Arab News.  

He said Gammon had already received permission from President Maithripala Sirisena to launch the Dubai-model free zone in Sri Lanka. 

“We have agreed to invest $1.2 billion to construct infrastructure required for the free-zone,” Mohammed was quoted as saying. 

The news report said Gammon had concluded a preliminary agreement with the Lankan government, following a day-long discussion with President Sirisena recently.

Sri Lanka is expected provide 700 acres of land to Gammon for the project in the Eastern Province.

Gammon has developed free zone projects in Kyrgyzstan and many other countries. 

However, Sri Lanka’s apex investment promotion body, the Board of Investments’ (BOI) Special Projects Acting Executive Director Vidharshan Fernando during a brief telephone interview with Mirror Business said the project has not reached the BOI yet.