Dutch biz delegation upbeat on Sri Lanka

Monday, 9 September 2013 00:08 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Dutch Ambassador hails common ground between Lanka-Netherlands
Sri Lankan Envoy welcomes Dutch dairy industry, seeks support to end milk powder dependence in SL
Dutch investor proposes $ 25 m project to start three hi-tech dairy farms in SL

By Dharisha Bastians A Dutch business delegation and a special television crew from the Netherlands networked with local businessmen and companies at a special cocktail held at The Kingsbury last week in a bid to enhance bilateral business ties between the two countries. The delegation of entrepreneurs and crew members from the RTL7 Business Channel on Tour program arrived in the island on 3 September for a five-day tour. Following meetings with local partners and the Sri Lankan Board of Investment, the group has signed several letters of intent for projects in the country with the cooperation of the Sri Lankan authorities, officials said.

Addressing the group at The Kingsbury on Thursday, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Louis Piët hailed historic trade ties between Sri Lanka and the Netherlands. Sri Lanka and the Netherlands had many commonalities, he said. “We are both small countries with about the same population numbers,” Ambassador Piet said. He added that Sri Lanka was now a middle income country which provided many opportunities for economic cooperation and development. Also speaking at the cocktail, Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to the Netherlands Buddhi Athauda who initiated the business delegation’s visit to Colombo, hailed plans to set up hi-tech dairy farms in Sri Lanka by Dutch Company Velema Holdings and saluted the ending of Sri Lanka’s milk powder dependence after a contamination scandal rocked the imported dairy products market in the country recently. Ambassador Athauda said the Netherlands had an advanced dairy industry where cows are bred for different climates and are exported to warm weather areas. Velema Holdings, a Dutch investment company, signed a letter of intent at the BOI to set up three top-end dairy farm and processing facilities with land for the purpose to be provided by authorities here. The farms would require 1,500 hectares to be provided for the project estimated to cost US$ 25 million, Velema Holdings Director Lubartus Velema told the Daily FT. The proposed farms would have 500 high yield cows each, Velema said, and would be managed in Sri Lanka. He said the project only needed suitable land and clean water to get off the ground. The farms would be climate controlled using techniques such as misting and would not need to be located at high altitudes upcountry, Velema said. “We can use wind-power and solar cells to run farms,” the Dutch businessman added.