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Continuing the Government effort, the BOI recently organised a media visit to Jaffna with the Minister of Investment Promotion Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena, with the aim of identifying suitable investment opportunities in the Jaffna and Mannar Districts.
On the way from Colombo to Jaffna a few site visits were organised at destinations, which showcased the rapid growth of the tourism industry, including Kala Oya, Madhu church, Wilpattu National Park, with boat visits to Maha oya, Delft Island, Adam’s bridge and Nagadeepa Viharaya.
Unparalleled access was granted to the media in order to discover the social, economic and political conditions of the northern region.
Government role and investment attraction in the north
The Northern Province is comprised of the Jaffna, Mannar, Mullaitivu, Vavuniya and Kilinochchi Districts that spread across about 8,290 sqkm. According to the data of a survey conducted in 2011 by the Department of Census and Statistics, around 1.8 million people lived in the north. A survey in 2012 declared the overall unemployment rate of the province was 5.2%, which was the highest among the provinces. Even though the province is a part of a dry weather zone in Sri Lanka, it is filled with mineral resources, inland water resources, islands, lagoons, wildlife areas, agricultural lands and many tourism destinations.
After the eradication of terrorism, the main development programs in the north, called Uthuru Wasanthaya, were allocated Rs. 12,296 million for development. The government has given very high priority to rebuilding infrastructure such as access roads, electricity, drinking and irrigation water, market facilities, public parks and waste disposal systems to enhance the investment attraction to the Northern Province. Foreign financing was secured for these projects, including $50.8 million grants from India, Australia and ADB while an additional $1,821.2 million loan was taken from China, India, Australia, ADB and the World Bank, with a total of $1,872 million in 2010.
The amount invested by the line ministries on basic infrastructure under the ‘Vadakkin Vasantham’ program from 2009-2012 was Rs. 8,865.33 million. The Ministry of Nation Building and State Infrastructure invested Rs. 2,222.17 million as well as a supplementary investment of Rs. 993.39 million from foreign funds. The investment by the Northern PC ministries was Rs. 1,215.29 million with the total amount invested being Rs. 12,296.78 million.
The role of the BOI
The Board of Investments, under the Ministry of Investment Promotion, acts as an investment promoter that encourages investment and lines up as an agent between investors and ministries. It has identified the areas that need investment in the north, while giving priority to the cultural values of the region. Agriculture, services, fisheries, infrastructure, animal husbandry, healthcare and tourism have been identified as the most suitable areas for investment in the north.
The BOI will provide investors exemptions from Value Added Tax (VAT), customs duty, Port and Airport Levy (PAL) on imports of all capital goods and project-related items during the project implementation period. The BOI also exempts the investor from exchange control for companies that export goods and provides other facilities. The BOI opened an office in Jaffna in 2010 to offer better services to the northern region and investors.
Mannar and Delft Island have been identified as the key areas in which to develop the tourism sector, while special attention will be paid to ICT-based investment, hotel services and healthcare for Jaffna. Garment zones, agricultural areas, farming and fisheries have been identified as suitable areas to develop with regards to the labour force and the other facilities.
The BOI always combines with the regional secretary officers in the Northern Province to identify the most suitable investments for the region. They have an online application system to register the investors as well.
Tourist destinations in the Mannar and Jaffna Districts
Situated in Elamkulam in the Mannar District, Mahawewa is a lagoon surrounded by the wild. The navy camp next to the lagoon operates a boat service in the lagoon and acts as the guardian of the natural resources of the area. There are some fishing families around the lagoon who use the Mahawewa for their daily needs and occupations. Tourists can catch a glimpse of wild elephants, wild pigs, monkeys and rare fish around the lagoon during the boat visits.
Operated by the Divisional Council of Wanathawilluwa in Puttalam, the Kala Oya has become one of the most attractive tourism areas. The entrance to the river falls across the Wilpattu National Park. Many tourists are attracted to this place for the swimming and the surrounding wildlife.
With a history of over 400 years, the Madhu church in Mannar is a well-known religious place among Sri Lankan Catholics. It is also a renowned place of loyalty for both Tamil and Sinhalese Catholics and is considered a holy shrine. Situated within the conflict zone, the pilgrims and visitors couldn’t visit the shrine before 2009, but it has now become the most attractive place in Mannar among both pilgrims and tourists.
Located in the north-western coast, the Wilpattu National Park spreads across 131,693 hectares and ranges from 0 to 152 metres above sea level. It combines with nearly sixty lakes and sand-rimmed water basins that fill with rain water. It is the largest and one of the oldest national parks in Sri Lanka and is world famous for its leopard population.
On the way to Mannar, touching the Silawathura beach, tourists can be seen at a ruin of an ancient house called the Doric Bungalow, which was built in 1804 and designed by the British Governor Frederick North. The building which consists of four rooms, including a dining room and bedroom, was used by the Governor when he visited Kondachchi Bay.
According to the geographical findings, the Adam’s Bridge is a former land connection between India and Sri Lanka, connecting the southern coast of Tamil Nadu, India and the Mannar Island on the North-western coast of Sri Lanka. The sandbanks called Adam’s Bridge were also significant as biodiversity areas for it coral reefs. The bridge is 30km long while some of the sandbanks are dry and the sea in the area is very shallow. Tourists who visit Mannar can experience the round boat visit to Adam’s Bridge with the SL Navy.
Neduntheevu or Delft is an island in the Palk Strait, in northern Sri Lanka. The island makes up 4.61% of land area in the Jaffna District and spreads across 47.5 sqkm giving shelter to 4600 people. It consists of six Village Secretarial Divisions and is further divided in to 15 wards. Many people in the island rear goats, cattle and chickens while most depend on fishing. They also grow paddy, chillies and other vegetables and are self-sufficient with cereals such as ‘Kurakkan’, ‘Mondy’, ‘Varagu’, ’Samy’.
The tourists can enjoy an unparallel experience with a boat visit to Delft operated by the Delft villagers. The ancient Chola Temple, Dutch Fort, Pigeon Nest, Queens’s Tower, Horses’ Tower, Thunkalal Hall, Giant’s Foot Print, Growing Stone, Boundary Walls, the baobab tree, the banyan tree and wild horses are the most eye-catching sights on the island.
It is said that the horses were brought to Delft for the Portuguese to travel around the island. The legend states that thereafter, the Dutch used Delft to sell the horses. In the past they have sold horses to ships which sailed around the Delft Island. After the Portuguese left, the Dutch took them over and then the British used them for transportation. The population of wild horses is around 400 on the island. A protection law has been placed over the horses and it is forbidden to remove them from the island.
While watching the breathtaking sea around the Delft Island, the Minister said that the Ministry is going to implement an eco-friendly tourist hotel project called ‘Palk Bay Resort’ in the Delft Island.
Authorised by the BOI and the Tourist Board of Sri Lanka, the Palk Bay Resort project is operated by Jetwing Hotels in collaboration with MMBL-Pathfinder. It has allocated Rs. 600 million for the project. The hotel is set to be developed as a 40-floor building in the 48-acre area. The project will support the Delft community to enhance their fishing, agriculture and farming livelihoods, especially the boat transportation system. The Minister stated that the island can be developed to be on par with tourist destinations in Asia like the Maldives.
Famous as one of the ‘Solosmasthana’ among Buddhists, the Nagadeepa Purana Viharaya is an ancient Buddhist temple situated in the Jaffna District. Today, the temple has become one the most attractive tourist destinations in Jaffna.
Key areas which need to be addressed
Even though the Government has implemented many development programs in the North, some key areas must be highlighted in the tourism sector. Sustainable tourism has become a special topic in Mannar because the district consists of many biodiversity hotspots. Several lagoons, the Wilpattu National Park and the Kala Oya are being exploited.
Ancient constructions like Doric Bungalow are going into ruin due to poor maintenance by the authorities. Forest clearing and environmental pollution is also growing at these tourism destinations. The Wilpattu National Park has many endemic birds such as the Sri Lankan Junglefowl and the Sri Lankan Grey Hornbill as well as other endemic wild animals. So the wildlife protection programs and laws must be strengthened to combat abusers of national resources.
The north faces dry weather and a lack of inland water resources, so the hotel sector could use bottled-water for drinking and supply salt-mixed water for the other needs of the visitors. Some hotels in the Mannar District were far away from villages and used generators for power. However, we could see that some infrastructure programs in the rural areas were being conducted at the time.
Invest in Jaffna
Due to the rapid overall development of the Jaffna region, economic priorities have also changed. The value of land has increased and agricultural landscape has been converted into industrial zones. Many of the residents in Jaffna have migrated to other countries as a result of the war. The people have a close relationship with the south Indian region and the skills of the labour force in Jaffna are very close to the South Indians.
Learning from our neighbour’s successful stories in ICT development and getting maximum benefits of the well-educated Jaffna community, the BOI intends to attract ICT-based investments to Jaffna, establish business process outsourcing, knowledge process outsourcing, software development and hardware manufacturing investments.
It will also target investments in the healthcare sector such as private hospitals, clinical services, laboratory services and channelling centres.
Current investments in the north
Foreign and local private investors have already implemented their projects in Jaffna and Mannar. According to the BOI data, the six projects in Jaffna, including the power plant, hotel services, manufacturing and hospitals, are still in commercial operation. Ten projects overall have been approved by the BOI in Jaffna and will be generating around 1,000 job opportunities to the community.
The BOI data declares that most investors prefer to invest in garment projects in Mannar. Apart from that, manufacturing, training centres and hotel projects are also still in commercial operation in Mannar. The nine investment projects in the Mannar District will generate around 1,500 job opportunities to the region.
Outcomes of Jaffna Investment Forum
The BOI also organised its first investment forum in Jaffna titled ‘Investment in Magnetic North’. Around 80 investors participated in the forum with ten foreign participants. The investors emphasised the need for railway facilities for better bulk handling from Jaffna to the port. They highlighted that the transportation cost can be reduced by improving the railway services while praising the current infrastructure facilities provided by the Government as well as the BOI support for Jaffna investors. But the investors pointed out that, in order to reap the best result, the internal tourism transport facilities must be developed in line with the external tourism. They forced the Ministry to extend the operation time of Jaffna town until midnight. The overseas participants stated that most of the Sri Lankan investors overseas prefer to invest in Sri Lanka. So they requested the Government to maintain better relationships with them. One of the investors highlighted the significance of developing a national recycling centre in the country. He pointed out that, instead of relying on India for recycling, it would generate many job opportunities and income to the country if a recycling centre could be set up in Jaffna.
Pix by Pradeep Pathirana
