Despite the political crisis towards the end of last year, the government has overcome it and are moving forward resolutely. said Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade Malik Samarawickrema.
He was speaking at the inauguration of a mixed development project at the multimodal transport hub in Battaramulla jointly invested by the Ministry of Megapolis and Essar from Dubai as a PPP project.
“What is clear from this is that the judiciary stands firmly and strongly on the side of what is right. This should give an enormous sense of confidence to any foreign investor and there is a good foundation for international business.”
Our government welcomes these Private Public Partnership with a reputed foreign investors and looking back one of the most successful PPPs were done in the container terminals, which today has made the Port of Colombo the busiest port in South Asia and the 23rd best port in the world.
“Transport infrastructure in Sri Lanka requires modernization and utilizing our key transport nodes for more than just a vehicle exchange point or junction, to unlock new value and create new opportunities is the key strategy that the Government is pursuing”.
Last year, the BOI introduced the ‘SWIFT’ online portal for investor applications and investor approvals, connecting dozens of regulatory agencies and other authorities with just a few clicks. “We have an ongoing work programme to improve the ‘Ease of Doing Business’ as per the World Bank index, and in the 2019 report, Sri Lanka jumped up 11 places . We hope to reach 70th place by 2022”.
The Minister said that last year, Sri Lanka attained the highest FDI on record, of US$ 2.3 billion and aim to achieve 3 billion Dollars this year.
Lanka welcomed two delegations of Sovereign Wealth Funds last year, including from the Investment Corporation of Dubai, Temasek International of Singapore, Khazanah Malaysia, and the Kuwait Investment Authority.
During these visits, they explored opportunities in the Megapolis project, as well as strategic tourism projects.
Last year, the BOI introduced the ‘SWIFT’ online portal for investor applications and investor approvals, connecting dozens of regulatory agencies and other authorities with just a few clicks. We have an ongoing work programme to improve the ‘Ease of Doing Business’ as per the World Bank index, and I am pleased to report that in the 2019 report, Sri Lanka jumped up 11 places. We hope to keep improving, with our eye on reaching 70th place by 2022.
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