Finance State Minister Dr. Ranjith Siyambalapitiya yesterday said that 44,430 vehicles have entered the market even during the period of import ban. The State Minister said that there are 38,144 motorcycles and 6,286 cars among them.
This was revealed in a discussion between vehicle assemblers and the State Minister about the removal of import restrictions.
Although restrictions have been imposed on the import of vehicles, the assembly and sale of parts is still going on. Representatives of many local vehicle manufacturing companies were present for this discussion and there was an in-depth discussion about granting permission for vehicle imports too.
They mentioned that while removing import restrictions, the Government should also focus on their local assembly business too.
They said that the imposition of import restrictions has been a stimulus for the production of vehicles in Sri Lanka even though it is a long-term process. State Minister Siyambalapitiya said that the Government is constantly supporting the strengthening of local businesses.
Jayasiri Munasinghe
