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WB lends US $ 900 m for development

The World Bank’s new Vice President for South Asia, Isabel Guerrero, wrapped up her first visit to Sri Lanka with a strong re-affirmation of her institution’s commitment to expand economic opportunities for all Sri Lankans and to reach those excluded by poverty and conflict.

“Sri Lanka clearly has so much potential which is being held back by conflict,” said Guerrero.

“I was really impressed to see that our new strategy to assist the nation’s development has broad-based support built on consultations we carried out across the island. It is so important for all Sri Lankans to have a stake in the island’s growth.”

The Country Assistance Strategy proposes US$ 900 million in lending to Sri Lanka over the next four years. It focuses on improving connectivity through infrastructure, especially roads and irrigation, to spread economic opportunity across this small but divided nation, some parts of which have been battered by decades of conflict.

Guerrero noted Sri Lanka’s achievements in fighting poverty, adding that the strategy supports the expansion of that achievement in poor and underserved areas, including the conflict-affected Northern and Eastern parts of the country.

During her visit, Guerrero, who until June was the World Bank’s director in charge of the World Bank’s large India programme, met with President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his advisors, with several members of the Cabinet, with the Governor of the Central Bank, Nivard Cabraal, and with officials from the Finance Ministry. She also met donors to the country’s development programme and heard from civil society and the private sector about the challenges they face.

One critical aspect of the Bank’s assistance strategy is to help Sri Lanka to improve its investment climate and boost its competitiveness to attract greater private sector investment.

“It is extremely difficult to work in areas affected by conflict but we have succeeded in part, for example, with the rehabilitation of irrigation infrastructure that has enabled some farmers in these areas to return to the land,” said Guerrero.

The Bank will not shy away from the huge needs of Sri Lankans in these areas, she said. Key to this was the Bank’s emphasis on enhancing the quality of services and the accountability for those services in areas like education, health, and social safety nets.

Finagle introduces new product range

Finagle Lanka (Pvt) Ltd., which is the first and the only bakery to obtain the ISO 9001:2000 certification in Sri Lanka has added Finagle butter biscuit and butter rusks, a new range of products to its product portfolio a company spokesperson said.

Finagle Lanka bakers producing their items.

With the prime objective of helping to produce a healthier nation, Finagle Lanka has introduced Finagle nutri bread, health bread with wholesome and nutritious combination of red rice, kurakkan, garlic curry leaves and virgin coconut oil. The medicinal values in these five natural ingredients are blended together to produce nutri bread.

Presently the company produces about 1.1 million units to the market monthly celebrating 60% of the market share. All products are Halal certified, contain high protein flour, and available through modern markets for all customers.

“Our products are quality tested through stringent measures by an American laboratory every other month, a sample of flour is taken for testing where we develop a nutritious and quality product with added nutrients. This process reiterates the quality standard of our products. Additionally we perform a blind test, where we identify the perfect taste, scent, texture for our product” said Managing Director, Finagle Lanka (Pvt) Ltd. Mahinda Ranasinghe,

The products are manufactured through machines from Peitro Burto, an Italian state- of- the -art technology which is only used in Finagle. “Most health bread in the market taste and like normal bread because the ingredients are not used adequately, the company has taken great care to use real ingredients in adequate quantities”, said Sales Manager Bhuddhi Ratnayake.

Finagle Lanka is a joint venture between Finagle a Bagel of USA, Phoenix Ventures and Ran Ovens (Pvt) Ltd., of Sri Lanka and is situated in the industrial estate Ekala, Ja-ela. Built with an investment of Rs. 250 million it is the single largest investment in the Sri Lankan bakery industry.

Emirates taxiing for take-off from new terminal

With the announcement of the phased opening of Terminal Three [T3] from October 14, the spotlight has now turned firmly on Emirates’ much-anticipated move to its new home in Dubai. EK843 Dubai-Doha, an Airbus A330-200, will be the first Emirates flight to be flagged off from the new terminal.

In a carefully-orchestrated move, the first phase of Emirates’ operations from T3 will launch all flights to the GCC and the Americas - 40 flights a day, around 15 per cent of the airline’s total services.

Phase Two will include flights to the rest of the Middle East and Africa as well, increasing operations to 99 flights every day, 37 per cent of all flights. Flights to Europe will take-off in the next phase, escalating operations to 168 daily flights or 60 per cent of all Emirates’ services. The fourth and final phase will include flights to the Indian Subcontinent, East Asia and Australasia and bring the total to 269 flights every day.

Each phase will commence after receiving a “clean operational chit” from the previous one to ensure customers enjoy a smooth, seamless Emirates experience.

Trials and testing at T3 continue at a feverish pace to iron out operational creases and remove any system bugs before the soft opening. The next major passenger trial is scheduled for 27th September.

Chairman and Chief Executive Emirates Airline and Group Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, said: “October 14 marks another red-letter day on the Emirates calendar. Emirates is effectively throwing open the doors of its new home, inviting cherished customers to enjoy the spacious luxury and state-of-the-art facilities.