Ripe Region - Sri Lanka north-east ripe for tourism, agriculture
Sri Lanka's Eastern and Northern provinces are ripe for investment in tourism, food processing and finance with infrastructure being built to improve connectivity, officials said.
Sri Lanka's Northern and Eastern provinces were devastated by a 30-year war which ended last year with the military wiping out the last remnants of Tamil Tiger separatists.
"There was a lot of destruction of property and assets during the war," economist Saman Kelegama, from Sri Lanka's Institute of Policy Studies told an economic forum in Colombo held as part of the India International Film Awards (IIFA).
"The overall infrastructure capacity in the region is weak. The government has launched two programs to re-build infrastructure. The objective is to improve the connectivity with the north and the east."
"Skilled labour, water supply and electricity supply will get rectified with time."
The last stage of the war left about 300,000 people homeless. Tony Seneviratne from the organization Habitat for Humanity, said tens of thousands of new homes were needed by people.
"No one person, no single entity can do this," he said. "Corporates can help."
The IIFA itself was getting involved in building 100 homes in the area, organizers of the event said.
Sri Lanka conflict with Tamil Tiger separatists cast a shadow over the film awards with top stars including IIFA brand ambassador Amitabh Bachchan and big names staying away with pressure mounted from Tamil Nadu in South India.
Kelegama said banking and insurance was weak in the region and there was informal finance. But this was an opportunity for banks and insurance companies to move in.
Arun Thambimuttu, an economist with Karooda Investments UK, who was born in Batticaloa in the Eastern province, said he had already seen roads being re-built.
"With the right development and infrastructure the potential is vast," Thambimuttu said.
"Not just for tourism but for tourism and aqua culture. We are looking to diversity."
Thambimuttu said direct transport links between India and Trincomalee and Batticaloa could revive economic activities.
The head of Sri Lanka's Board of Investment Jayampathy Bandaranayake said the north and the east had two-thirds of the island's coastline and the livelihoods of the people in the areas would improve when investments moved in.
Bandaranayake said India could play a role in promoting IT-enabled services as literacy rates were high in the island.
The area had opportunities for high value agriculture. Already Sri Lankan export firms like Hayleys were teaching eastern farmers how to grow high value export crops.
Ashok Haldia, director of Power Trading Corporation India Financial Services said there was potential for biomass energy development in the North and the East.
"In the entire Jaffna peninsula there is potential for renewable energy development," Haldia said.
"I believe there's great potential in Sri Lanka."
(Source: LBO – 04th June, 2010)