'Eastern Province fantastic for investors'

Having put its 30 years of conflict behind, Sri Lanka now sees its earlier war-prone Eastern Province as a suitable region for tourism promotion as it is bestowed with very beautiful beaches.

"Eastern Province is a virgin territory, it is a fantastic area with beach fronts where joint ventures or investments can work," quoting Sri Lanka's High Commissioner in India Prasad Kariyawasam, the Hindu reported.

He said that there is lot of confidence among investors in Sri Lanka as a destination.

"We have a Board of Investment, which is a one-stop shop for this kind of needs," he said adding that serious investors should visit the area and see for themselves. Kariyawasam said there are massive tax holidays offered by the government coupled with incentives like 100 percent foreign ownership and also 100 percent profit repatriation.

"Considering the manpower shortage in the country, even foreign labourers are allowed in this sector," he said.

Kariyawasam said that areas of the country, both in the interiors as well as the coast that were inaccessible to tourists for 30 long years are now opening up.

"This includes some of our best wildlife parks and beaches on the east coast," he said.

The High Commissioner pointed out that the interest of international hotel chain is increasing towards Sri Lanka.

"The Shangri-La Chain has just gone into Sri Lanka. They paid upfront in convertible currency for the land that they purchased in the heart of Colombo," he said.

(www.priu.gov.lk)