Industrial zones in North and East

Irangika RANGE

Industry and Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiudeen said that the initial work for the establishment of three new industrial zones in Vavuniya, Mannar and Batticaloa has been completed.

The programme is aimed at lending a helping hand to small and medium scale entrepreneurs whose income and livelihoods were destroyed due to the thirty-year long war.

"We have already established the North Regional Industry Service Center in Vavuniya to facilitate the needs of the industrialists in the Northern Province," the minister said.

The Government while continuing its efforts to accelerate development in the entire country is making substantial progress in the Northern and Eastern Provinces which suffered over a long period of time.

The minister said that the North would take the initiative in development through opening itself to the outside world and they can assist development in other parts of the country.

For the large-scale development in the region, the groundwork is set to upgrade the local infrastructure, eco-system and protect the environment.

The key to its success lies in local industrial restructuring, the minister said.

The minister added that the work on the second stage of the Trincomalee industrial zone too will be commenced shortly.

He pointed out that the industrial sector has reported a healthy 8.4 percent productivity growth in 2010.

Improved performance in food and beverages, rubber based products, textiles and garments coupled with increased performance in the construction sector, helped this growth.