BOI, Huichen Investment (Holdings) to manage zone:

Work on Chinese SEZ makes steady progress

Sanjeevi Jayasuriya

Work on the dedicated Chinese Special Economic Zone (SEZ) at Mirigama is progressing well. An agreement was signed between the Board of Investment (BOI) and the Chinese conglomerate Huichen Investment (Holdings) Pvt. Ltd recently to set up and manage the Zone, an official of the BOI said.

"We are open to the idea of having zones from other countries as they will manage and attract investors. With the Chinese Zone, the Chinese companies can set up business ventures and market the zone in an effective manner", he said.

There are many advantages of having foreign companies investing in Sri Lanka. One being, the development of infrastructure in the area. The inflow of capital and the know-how are also vital for the country's development. Once the Zone is in full swing it will be a boost to investments and foreign exchange, he said.

The setting up of a special economic zone involves enormous work. The focus should be to create an industrial city with developed infrastructure such as water, electricity, telecommunication and road network. This takes time, he said.

Under the first phase of development, the Chinese company will invest US $ 28 million. The company's interests extends to a wider range of economic sectors and activities such as machinery and equipment, electric motorcycles, light vehicle assembly, manufacturing buses, ambulances and agricultural machinery. The company also engages in coal and metal mining overseas.

With their vast network of activities and contacts in the Chinese industry, Huichen will market the Mirigama Special Economic Zone (SEZ) effectively. The newly planned SEZ will have standard buildings and be available to investors for factories, he said.

The extent of the Mirigama SEZ is 161 acres. It is 40 kilometres from the Katunayake International Airport and 55 kilometres from the Colombo Port.