Eastern Province expands to Rs. 473 b

Monday, 20 January 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Eastern Province economy that was previously worth Rs. 134 billion around six years ago has now expanded to Rs. 473 billion as at 2012. This explains the traction that the economy has got with increased business activity, said Director and business personality Rohantha Athukorala at the ‘Invest in East’ International Conference held at Taj Samudra, Colombo.

The conference was organised by the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Production and Development, Rural Industries Development and Fisheries and Tourism of the Eastern Province, in collaboration with the Ministry of Economic Development and Ministry of Investment Promotion, which saw over 250 potential investors from round Sri Lanka and abroad attending. This was the first time a provincial level initiative was championed in Sri Lanka to attract FDIs into a region and was commended by many speakers. Athukorala, who themed his presentation on current trade, investment climates and issues with FDIs to Sri Lanka, highlighted the robust private sector performance as per the annual reports of 2010-2012 where organisations that cater to the middle income household across the country, be it beverage companies, floor care brands, beer marketers and consumer durable multinational companies have doubled their revenue in the last two years whilst increasing their profits by almost two and a half times that mirrors the GDP expansion seen in the Eastern Province. But he questioned if this growth was more organic and if we are to really get the benefit of the peace dividends we must make economies like the Eastern Province at least a Rs. 1,000 billion by 2016. The heavy duty Industrial zone and increased activity in the Trincomalee Port can help achieve this target, said Athukorala, not forgetting the fast tracked tourism sector in the east.