Ratmalana Economic Centre opens

Dedicated economic centres program launched by the Trade Marketing Development Cooperatives and Consumer Services Ministry will foster competition in the market place and prevent artificial jacking up of prices, Minister Bandula Gunawardena said.

The Minister made this observation during an inspection tour of the Dedicated Economic Centre which opened in Ratmalana yesterday.

Gunawardena said idle state land and property belonging to the Food Department would be utilised to open up dedicated economic centres that would benefit the consumer public. As a whole this was a people friendly program launched under the Mahinda Chinthana, he said.

Gunawardena said the new centre set up at the Food Department stores complex adjoining Weerasena de Silva Mawatha Ratmalana was opened in time for the Sinhala and Tamil New Year.

The building with a floor space of 50,000 sq ft is estimated to cost Rs. 86 million. Construction work was handled by The Central Construction Engineering Consultancy Bureau.

This new centre which was the second such centre in Colombo will be kept open from 4.30 p.m. to 11 p.m. daily and it would immensely benefit people in Dehiwala, Ratmalana and Moratuwa areas.

It is expected to cater to more than 10,000 consumers daily. The centre will be opened in two stages. The first stage would include sales centres for rice and other food commodities.

The second stage would include a garment sales unit which would sell textiles and garments at concessionary prices. There would also be a car park, a Banking Service and a Police Station for the convenience of the public, he said.