Industries Ministry allocates strategic lots for PPP
The Industrial Development Board (IDB) has gathered more than 50 per cent information from the 335 divisional secretariats on land ownership to kick-start the industrial development drive, a top official said.
The IDB, under the Ministry of Industries, is also requesting large parcels of land in Hambantota from the reserved area for development to set up a zone. “Already 5000 acres have been reserved for industrial development, but that is not enough, and currently we do not have large parcels of land anywhere else except in Hambantota, which is why we decided to set up an industrial zone there,” IDB Chairman Ravi Nissanka told The Sunday Times Business on Wednesday.
He said that when the Hambantota Harbour is completely developed, industrial development will also kick in.
The IDB has planned a massive industrial plan for all Divisional Secretariats to have a zone for industries in each secretariat. “We are now in the feasibility and planning stages of these zones. Many diaspora are interested, and we are working on attractive benefits for them, like a lease-free period, etc,” Mr. Nissanka added.
Sri Lanka currently allocates only 0.1 per cent of its land for industrial development, one of the lowest rates globally. The government aims to increase this allocation to at least 1 per cent by next year. To achieve this goal, there is a consideration to release state-owned lands and designate certain ritualised lands through the Ministry of Industries for investment in key areas. The limited availability of land is a significant barrier to establishing a robust industrial base in the country, compounded by challenges related to liquidity and licensing, according to a Ministry of Industry official.
The ministry is developing a land inventory to release vacant slots for public-private partnership investments in trust areas like tourism and agriculture, the official said, noting that the inventory will be called for expressions of interest after completion.
Sri Lanka has two formal land tenure classifications: state control and private ownership. A sizeable portion of the land, including forest, waste, and unoccupied land, is under state control. State land is managed at national, provincial, district, and divisional levels by government officials.
The ministry is in touch with all District Secretariats to obtain the details of available lands for industrial land and vacant lots, and only the Western Province land details have been given to the ministry.
In the Western Province, the ministry has identified 350 acres of land in Ingiriya to set up an industrial zone, with the land survey done, and now the internal roads are now being constructed, the official said. “By next month, industrialists will be called to invest in this zone,” he added.
He said that since 2015, some 152 proposals for investments had been received by the ministry for three blocks of land in Milleniya Raigampura Green Industrial Zone, Kalutara District. Now 24 industries have been allocated lots there, he added.
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