NITF gets new business opportunities

Indunil HEWAGE

New business ventures to be set up in the Magampura port premises will bring more business opportunities to the National Insurance Trust Fund (NITF).

Senaka Abeygoonasekera

Two foreign companies engaged in manufacturing sports utility vehicles in Europe have sought Sri Lankan Government approval to obtain land to set up assembling plants in Hambantota and have submitted documents to the NITF to obtain insurance coverage for their property.

In addition NITF, sole local institution for reinsurance will set up a national hospital in collaboration with the Treasury. It is planned to hand over the maintenance of the hospital to the Health Ministry.

National Insurance Trust Fund Chairman Senaka D Abeygoonasekera said the NITF will provide funds for the entire project and Treasury has agreed to search land requirements for the above project.

A Memorandum of Understanding pertaining to the project will be signed between the relevant parties shortly.

NITF is in the process of setting up Agrahara wards at Hospitals islandwide with the purpose of benefiting over 1.3 million Agrahara members. There are around 1,050 hospitals in the country and we expect that 50 percent of these hospitals will have Agrahara wards by 2016.

“NITF made a huge investment worth Rs 1.2 billion in 2010 with the Urban Development Authority to support the Colombo Restructuring project.

“We are optimistic that NITF would be able to record over Rs 600 million as interest for this investment by 2016,” Abeygoonasekara said.