Investors upbeat on Jaffna
Infrastructure development on fast pace:
Charumini De Silva in Jaffna
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Suresh de
Mel |
The Biz Pact Investment Forum - Jaffna, organized by
the Business for Peace Alliance (BPA) was a welcome effort to the
business community in Jaffna and business giants in Colombo to show
potential sectors in the North with the dawn of peace.
Business for Peace Alliance (BPA) Chairman, Suresh de
Mel said small and medium entrepreneurs throughout Sri Lanka who have
been striving to foster peace and stability are taking advantage of the
opportunity that has emerged to rebuild the country and bring prosperity
to all parts of the country, which is rich in natural and cultural
diversity.
It is the ideal time for investors to set up business
even on a small- scale as it is pre-mature for huge investments. The
Government has completed most of the infrastructure developments in the
Eastern province and several projects have begun in the Northern
province too.
Essential needs such as electricity,
telecommunication, drinking water, sanitary facilities, transport,
hospitals, roads, supermarkets, postal services and other essential
facilities have already been established.
With the beginning of a new era with peace it is vital
that the business community recognize the possibilities and re-build the
country's economy.
The key potential areas identified by the participants
were fisheries, tourism, agriculture, dairy, salt base industries,
construction, palmyra based industries, education, post harvest
technology, sustainable energy, textile and boat building industries are
just a few opportunities that need priority attention.
"If the local community was empowered to proactively
participate in developing this land, they will become responsible
stakeholders in society. This will in turn ensure a durable peace and
prosperity to an area that has been deprived of it for decades, de Mel
said.
Daily News Business interviewed several investors who
are keen to invest in Jaffna and most of them said that since we are
still getting on in the North it is important to encourage responsible
joint venture partnership in the post-conflict context in the region.
They also said that the assistance of regional
chambers and support from the SMEs to develop this land is vital. It is
the people who are responsible from bottom to top in developing this
area.
An investor said business enterprise is an important
part of a nation as businesses are assessing the investment
opportunities and options in the North and East. One way of capturing
the market is to promote many CSR activities in the area," he said.
Adopting the green concept by protecting the
environment in all each projects is essential to have sustainable
development.
The literacy rate in Jaffna is over 90 percent and the
people are very hard working. Therefore, the investors should take the
maximum use of the opportunity they got after decades and help to
rebuild the country's economy in a responsible manner," he said.
Courtesy : Daily News | 
