Touchwood goes for Rs. 450m Mahogany project

Hiran H. Senewiratne in Kukuleganga

Sri Lanka’s leading pioneering company in marketing and managing private forestry plantations, Touchwood Investment Ltd (TlL) will invest Rs 450 million to plant mahogany and other commercially viable timber plants, its sources said.

TIL Chief Executive Officer Asitha Koralage said that their target is to grow more than 1000 acres of Mahogany before the end of March 2009.

This will helps stop destruction of rain forests in the country, while generating income for their clients. The company manages more than 1300 acres and has more than 15,000 clients.

Koralage said most of their clients are professionals and they invest heavily in these forestry lands. Plantations are scattered in small lots.

To safeguard the client’s interest TIL has taken measures such as transferring the land deed to the client as collateral maintaining a 100 per cent replacement buffer stock of trees to meet any contingency loss.

The client has the option to sell or transfer the ownership of the forest lot at any time after five years. Trees are managed by local and international forestry experts, he said.

TIL forest plantations are ISO 9001 and 14000 certified.

Koralage said the TIL concept is popular among the public due to its transparency and credibility and adequate measures taken to safeguard and manage the plantations over the past years. TIL commenced operations in Sri Lanka eight years ago with a greater vision to help stop the destruction of forests and introduced Mahogany plantations.

Since then the company has contributed to Sri Lanka by employing indigenous people, creating foreign employment, rural infrastructure development protecting nature and securing funds for future needs with unmatchable profits, he said.

TIL has provided employment opportunities for more than 300 in their plantations spread in many districts in Ratnapura, Kalutara and Kegalle.

The company intends to go for a second plantation of their existing lands in two years, Koralage said.

TIL with eight years of successful operations have identified Sandalwood as a species suitable for Sri Lanka which has the capability of generating more funds.