New institutions such as the Economic Commission, which will assume responsibilities from the BOI to drive investment, a dedicated agency for managing investment zones, an International Trade Office to enhance global trade and a National Productivity Commission to boost productivity would be established soon, President Ranil Wickremesinghe told the KPMG All India Partners Meet in Colombo on Saturday.
“Furthermore, the Institute for Economics and International Trade will serve as a think tank, bringing together economists and experts to shape Sri Lanka’s economic strategies effectively. We have just concluded the board of directors meeting of the IMF, which was quite successful and are preparing thereafter to meet with our creditor nations, the Paris Club, India and others, who meet at the official creditors committee next week, and also carry on discussions with China with the Exim Bank of China.”
“Once we conclude the discussions, then we come to the next phase. With this, we are ready to sign the agreements with our official creditors and with the Exim Bank of China. So next week, on Wednesday, we will be meeting with the OCC, and also next week, we will be carrying out discussions with the Exim Bank of China. Thereafter, we will have come out of this phase of bankruptcy and into the next phase as we go ahead.”
President Wickremesinghe said the objective is to gradually shift towards becoming a competitive, export-oriented economy.
“It won’t be individual projects. We’ve discussed a fair number of them. First is the grid interconnection between Sri Lanka and India, so that sustainable energy can be transmitted to India, where you all need that very badly. We have the Sampur solar power project, which is a government-to-government (G2G) project, and a three-island project, which is where we hope the groundbreaking can take place in July. In addition to energy, we have also discussed India helping us to expand the Kankesanthurai port to ensure that more business comes into the port and on airport development, at the Palali and Colombo airports.
The President said the National Livestock Development Board, in collaboration with India’s Amul Dairy Company, aim at enhancing liquid milk production in the country. Extensive discussions have also taken place regarding expediting the Trincomalee Development Project, which encompasses industrial investment zones and tourist areas.
Furthermore, plans are underway to construct a multi-product oil pipeline from Nagapattinam to Trincomalee, pending the final observation report and Trincomalee is poised to become a hub for oil refining, with the development of ports and investment zones, transforming Trincomalee Port into a significant hub on the Bay of Bengal, he added. (MFJ)
