Butani Group to start new BPO-related project under BOI agreement

The Board of Investment of Sri Lanka signed an agreement with Butani Capital Ltd. to build  a 60,000 sqft purpose built office space aimed at supporting Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) projects, representing at an investment of over half a billion rupees to support the BPO sector in Sri Lanka.

This project will also generate employment opportunities as it will create more than 200 jobs in the country and will be located on Elvitigala Mawatha, Colombo 5. It will provide 10 storeys of easy plug and play work environment for BPOs, cost effective incubation facilities for startup BPOs, common conference halls, recreational and relaxation areas, meals rooms, banking facilities, about 100 vehicle parking slots, and other facilities.

The Directors of the company and the project consultants expect the project to be completed within 18 months, effective January 2013.

The agreement was signed by M.M.C. Ferdinando, Chairman/Director General on behalf of the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka, and Dinesh Butani, Director of Butani Capital.

Ferdinando stated: “This project is important to the BOI as it supports one of the strategic objectives of the Government, namely to transform Sri Lanka into an important communication hub where knowledge-based activities can contribute US$ 1 billion in export revenue. We are keen to see investment serving a useful purpose to society by supporting long-term national goals and creating a new capacity in the country in the field of IT/BPO, which will create new opportunities for our youth.”

Butani Capital Director Dinesh Butani, a pioneer in the BPO industry in Sri Lanka, said: “This is the first project being launched and other projects are being looked at to fulfill internal BPO infrastructure requirements as well as to provide purpose built facilities at competitive pricing to the growing BPO industry in Sri Lanka.”

He also said that the location was chosen based on BPO employee demographics and minimising travel times to and from work for staff working both day and night shifts.  

Butani Capital is a newly-formed company and will primary focus on funding BPO-related infrastructure projects, BPO startups and technology ventures.