Rigid Tyre Corporation said they will invest US dollars 75 million for the Sri Lanka’s largest integrated tyre manufacturing plant for which ground was broken at the BOI Industrial Zone, Wagawatta Horana last week.
The company will manufacture Italian branded Marangoni tyres as well as other tyres for both Sri Lanka and the export market.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe who was the chief guest at the foundation lying ceremony said the government will be able to create 20,000 job opportunities with the opening factories that has good visionary leadership and modern technology such as RIGID. Wickremesinghe also said that Rigid Tyre Corporation has not only brought in Foreign Direct Investments but also new technology.
He said that he started the Biyagama Investment zone as a Member of Parliament with 300 acres and today there are over 100 companies mostly targeting exports. “This zone too will resemble similar to that zone and are being set up all over Sri Lanka to usher economic prosperity.”
The Premier said that in addition to new local foreign and local companies, several local companies like Richard Pieris and MAS Holdings have requested for land to set up factories similar to this.
The investor for the project Nandana Lokuwithana is the Chairman of both Rigid Tyre Corporation and Ceylon Steel. Lokuwithana told Daily News Business that they have already started construction and it will be completed in 16 months. “Next we will install machinery and then the first tyre manufactured in Horana will be ready by the third quarter of next year.”
The tyre plant, being the first of its kind in Sri Lanka, is commissioned to manufacture the whole gamut of tyres including off-the -road (OTR) tyres, passenger car radials and truck and bus radials.
The venture will create over 3000 job opportunities, both direct and indirect.
This new venture is tipped to be the biggest fully integrated tyre manufacturing plant in the country.
“It is an initiative with far reaching benefits for the country and certainly can roll out many a profiting mile.We will also use as much as local raw material (rubber) which in tunr would
help to increase price for local rubber industry.”
Marangoni Tyre President Vittorio Marangoni said they will provide the technical knowhow for the project and Marangoni tyres too will be manufactured in Horana. “Our main business intention is to capitalise on the European market. All RIGID Tyre products take on the tag, “Licensed by Marangoni”.
Marangoni is famed not only for its superlative breeds of tyres but the process of manufacture as well and its carbon footprint is small and clean.
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