In the first 30 days of May Sri Lanka has welcomed 108,656 tourists up 30 percent from 83,309 a year earlier but down from 148,867 in April.

A controversial deal with VFS Global which led foreigners and outsourced workers manning immigration point at the main airport, also resulted in a user-unfriendly website, as well as visas rising to 107 dollars from 51.

Though a fight back by Tourism Minister Harin Fernando against the deal led to a 50-dollar visa being re-introduced, the problems with a user-unfriendly website compared to the earlier easy-to-us one remain, with complaints continuing in online forums.

A controversy has also blown up between Sri Lanka and Maldives after VFS Global started charging fees from Maldives visitors.

Sri Lanka has a reciprocal visa exemption arrangement with the Maldives and there are fears that VFS style fees may be slapped on Sri Lankans who may also face the hassle of getting VFS-style visa.

At the moment Maldives only requires online disembarkation information to be filled when a Sri Lankan visits.

Sri Lanka risks foreign retaliation over VFS visa deal

“Following the announcement of a new e-visa system in Sri Lanka, the Ministry has been engaged in discussions with Sri Lankan counterparts to ensure a smooth transition for Maldivian travellers,” Maldives’ Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“For those Maldivians who are already in Sri Lanka and require a visa extension may contact the Maldives High Commission in Colombo.”

“The Ministry is committed to establishing a visa process that reflects the current visa agreement between the Maldives and Sri Lanka and ensures reciprocity for Maldivian travellers.

“Discussions with Sri Lankan authorities are ongoing to address any remaining concerns.”

Amid the controversy over VFS charges, Maldives was listed as the second largest source of tourists to Sri Lanka in the first 30 days of May with 7,984 tourists, overtaking British visitors at 7,844.

Sri Lanka’s tourism promotion authorities also revised up April numbers saying it was to reflect new visa categories introduced within the month, without giving details.

Related Sri Lanka revises up April tourist arrivals amid visa crisis

Sri Lanka’s tourist arrivals topped 200,000 in the first quarter growing around 100 percent.

In April, considered the start of the off-season arrivals were 148,867, but still up 41 percent from last year.

In May there were 108,665 growth has faltered to 30 percent, with numbers barely above last year in the final week.

Travel officials say the difficult website as well a minimum room rate could be contributing to faltering arrivals.

Auction prices have gone up 20 percent from 62,958 on May 02.

The highest price was 79,900 rupees for 1,000 nuts at the May 30 auction, down from 80,100 rupees a week ago, while the lowest was 65,000 up from 62,500.

A total of 316,756 coconuts were offered at the auction and 248,938 nuts were sold.

Wholesale prices were 95 to 110 rupees for large nuts and 85 to 90 rupees for small nuts in the week
to April 17.

Farmgate prices in Kurunegala were 72,000-75,000 per 1,000 nuts.

Coconut oil was 570,000–610,000 rupees per metric ton.

Coconut shells were 32,000–34,000 rupees per metric ton. (Colombo/June1/2024)

This is for the University to make pre-arrangements before commencing academic studies in January 2025.

Successive governments’ efforts to open private medical faculties have ended with strong protests from leftists and Marxists.

SAITM and before it the North Colombo University in Ragama were forced to close after such protests.
Later, the North Colombo University was incorporated as the medical faculty of state-run University of Kelaniya. (Colombo/May31/2024)

“The debut of the NH Collection Hotels & Resorts brand in Sri Lanka is an indication of the untapped potential and opportunity for tourism in Sri Lanka, particularly in the city of Colombo,” Softlogic said in a stock exchange filing.

The hotel has 219 rooms and has so far been operated by Movenpick, hotels and resorts.

Minor Hotels has three other properties in Sri Lanka – Anantara Kalutara Resort, Anantara Peace Haven Tangalle Resort and Avani Kalutara Resort.

The Softlogic hotel property, which consists of 219 rooms and suites providing an expansive view of the Indian ocean and Colombo city, will be branded as the “NH Collection Colombo Hotel”.

Minor Hotels has over 550 hotels and resorts and serves customers in 56 countries, the statement said. (Colombo/May31/2024)

“It is serious matter for the industry,” Tourist Hotels Association of Sri Lanka President M Shanthikumar said.

“The Happy Hour is not only found in Sri Lanka. It is across the world.”

The National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol had informed a city hotel that received complaints that hotels were offering discounts on drinks during ‘Happy Hour’ promotions.

The practice was viewed as a violation of the NATA Act, the agency had decided to direct all hotels to stop giving discounts on alcohol.

Each director will be fined 50,000 rupees if hotels continued to make customers happy with discounts.

Hotels are selling legal tax paid alcohol, he said. They also pay large amounts of money for liqour licenses to the government.

Shanthikumar said representations have been made to the Sri Lanka Tourist Development Authority to help resolve the crisis.

“We have also written to the State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe,” he said.

Sri Lanka has a thriving moonshine of ‘kasippu’ industry due to high taxes on legal alcohol. Tobacco is also smuggled due to high taxes. (Colombo/May31/2024)

Sri Lankans are among 36 countries added to a list of 57 countries that would get 60 day stays under the scheme, The Bangkok Post reported.

The new countries eligible for ‘Destination Thailand Visa’ include Albania, Cambodia, China, India, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Laos, Mexico, Morocco, Panama, Romania and Uzbekistan.

Visitors who want to work and visit tourist destinations will be able to get five-year visas valid for 180 days, extendable for another 180 days, the government spokesman Chai Wacharonke was quoted in the news report.

The visa will allow foreign students of higher education to stay for one year after graduation and work, instead of having to leave the country immediately after finishing their course.

“They can find work during the extended period, especially in the fields that we need,” the spokesman said.

Visitors over 50 years who want long-stay visas currently need to have health insurance coverage worth 3 million baht. This has now been reduced to 440,000 baht (400,000 for inpatient treatment and 40,000 for outpatient cover).

The cabinet also approved the expansion of e-visa application services at Thai consulates and embassies from 47 to 94 locations, commencing in September. (Colombo/May30/2024)

Mihular was Managing Partner of KPMG Sri Lanka and Maldives from 2012 to 2022 and chaired KPMG’s Middle East and South Asia Regional Cluster, where he also acted as Chief Operating Officer.

He holds directorships at various public listed companies, including Watawala Plantations and Sunshine Holdings.

He is a Commissioner at the Colombo Port City Economic Commission and a member of the Stakeholder Engagement Committee of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.

Outgoing Chairman Wijesinha has served on the boards of both Watawala Plantations and Watawala Dairy Ltd. In September 2023, he was honoured with the ‘Order of the Rising Sun’ by the Government of Japan, in recognition of his contribution to strengthening economic relations and promoting mutual understanding between Japan and Sri Lanka.

Watawala Plantations, a diversified agribusiness company, is a joint venture between Sunshine Holdings and Pyramid Wilmar Plantations Pvt Ltd. (Colombo/May30/2024)

The exit offer price is 240 rupees per share, the company said in a stock exchange filing.

“The Board of Directors of the Company has made arrangements with Aitken Spence PLC, MJ F Holdings (Private) Limited, and Mr. D. A. de S. Wickramanayake, three largest shareholders of the Company (the “Major Shareholders”) and the Major Shareholders have indicated the willingness to acquire the shares of the minority shareholders of the Company who may wish to divest/sell their shares.”

The total shares that the minority shareholders wish to sell under the exit offer will be purchased by the Major Shareholders in proportion to their respective shareholding percentages vis a vis each other by adopting a suitable and practical modality agreed upon with the Company, so that the Major Shareholders will maintain their respective shareholding percentages in the Company post de-listing.

A circular to the shareholders detailing the rationale of the proposed de-listing, together with the notice of Extraordinary General Meeting, convening an EGM to seek shareholder approval in relation to the aforesaid de-listing of shares will be dispatched to the shareholders of the Company shortly, the company said.

The share last traded at 56.80.
(Colombo/May29/2024)

“267 employees have given consent to be retired under the VRS to be implemented for employees in relation to the amalgamation of Ceylon Fertilizer Company Limited and Colombo Commercial Fertilizer Company Limited,” Gunawardena told reporters Tuesday.

The Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal to implement the VRS at a cost of 844 million rupees from the funds of the two fertilizer companies for execution of the proposed retirement scheme.

This is subject to the recommendations of a committee appointed to study retiring excess employees in state enterprises, Gunawardena said. (Colombo/May29/2024)

In order to pay the mandated wage which amounts to a 70 percent increase in costs, without an increase in output which is possible under alternative models already tried will force cost-cutting in fertilizer and other investments, the Planters’ Association of Ceylon said.

The government issued another gazette in May, with exactly the same wage as in April, under the so-called wages board ordinance.

Wages for tea and rubber workers are the highest among all wages boards including garments and other state jobs like

Planters’ Association strongly opposes Government’s arbitrary and ill-conceived wage hike for plantation sector workers

The plantation industry raised its strongest possible objections to the Government’s arbitrary, reckless, unilateral decision to drastically hike minimum wages for tea and rubber sector workers by an unprecedented 70%.

All producer stakeholders issued a unified warning against the devastating impact the latest increase will have on the plantation sector, leading crippling operational challenges, ultimately leading to severe economic instability for the nation.

“This decision was made without proper consultation or consideration of the needs of all industry stakeholders. In particular, it fails to provide any consideration and threatens to cripple every segment of the Sri Lankan tea and rubber industry. This current effort to force such a clearly unsustainable mandatory minimum wage on tea and rubber smallholders and the Regional Plantation Companies (RPCS) is impossible for the industry to absorb, even with radical cuts to basic operational necessities. The continuity of the entire plantation sector is now at risk, and most critically the livelihoods of the very workers and communities who are connected to the industry across Sri Lanka,” The Planters’ Association of Ceylon stated.

As a result of the decision, the cost of production for tea and rubber is set to rise dramatically, with estimates indicating a minimum 45% increase in the cost per kilogram of tea. This surge in operational costs will render Sri Lanka’s tea and rubber industries uncompetitive in the global market, further exacerbating the financial strain on these sectors.

Additionally, the wage hike will place an enormous burden on Regional Plantation Companies (RPCs), which will face an annual increase in excess of Rs. 35 billion inclusive of EPF/ETF and gratuity payments. This financial strain is unsustainable and threatens the livelihoods of thousands of workers in the plantation sector.

The PA also noted that the current approach of the Government in attempting to coercively set wages for the private sector, and interfere in management of the sector from key Government figures represent a stark violation of the terms of the IMF agreement, which is crucial for Sri Lanka’s economic recovery. This decision is very clearly driven by short-term populist politics aimed at securing electoral victories rather than fostering long-term economic health of the industry, and securing the interests of workers.

The IMF’s $3 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for Sri Lanka is contingent on several stringent conditions aimed at ensuring fiscal consolidation including reduced intervention in state-owned enterprises (SOE). Historically, state control over enterprises has led to inefficiencies and financial burdens, as evidenced by the failures of numerous state-run businesses in Sri Lanka.

Historically, the state has consistently failed to manage State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) effectively, leading to steep losses and in many instances, near total collapse. By the time of privatization in 1992, state owned plantations made continuous losses that had to be heavily subsidized by the Government up to Rs. 5 billion per year which was borne by the Treasury.

A further Rs. 8 billion was owed by the JEDB and SLSPC to the Bank of Ceylon and Peoples’ Bank as a result of a US$ 300 million lending facility which was extended to the state plantations by the World Bank. While these funds were intended for the improvement of the plantations industry, there were no significant improvements and the plantations did not have the ability to repay the debts, and the Government was eventually compelled to absorb this debt.

Following privatization, worker wages appreciated sharply, and with a significantly larger workforce of 327,123 within the RPC sector the industry was able to operate more effectively, investing substantially towards the development of the industry, including all of the key certifications and standards that have allowed Pure Ceylon Tea, and rubber to maintain a reputation for unmatched quality relative to global competitors.

These efforts have led to improvements in efficiency and productivity, which are now at risk due to the proposed wage hike. It is also important to note that all these companies are publicly traded companies listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange. Any attempt at a second and immediate expropriation by the Government will therefore contravene Securities and Exchange Commission and SEC rules, the Companies Act and other related statutory provisions.

Such an arbitrary and impractical decision also risks severe damage to local and foreign investor confidence alike. The PA warned that this would have negative consequences beyond the plantation industry, especially at a time when Sri Lanka desperately requires foreign direct investment to help boost strategically important sectors in manufacturing and services, as well as the agriculture sector.

The PA has long advocated for a shift to a productivity-linked wage model or a revenue share model, which aligns worker compensation with productivity and revenue earned at auction. This approach not only incentivizes productivity but also ensures a fair and sustainable wage system for workers. Already workers under revenue share under the previous wage structure recorded earnings in excess of the minimum wage that was recently gazette.

The current daily attendance-based minimum wage model is outdated and does not reflect the realities of the modern plantation industry. Any disruption to production or quality standards could send shockwaves through export markets, diminishing export revenues and competitiveness.

“We urge policymakers to prioritize long-term economic stability over short-sighted decisions and to consider the industry’s proposals for a productivity-linked wage model,” the PA said.

Small tea estate owners are already paying more than the prescribed minimum wage and there is a problem related to increasing these wages in the regional estate companies which have been transferred to the private sector from the government, a statement from the ministry quoted Nanayakkara as saying.

Small estate owners however are paying pluckers based on the volume of kilo plucked around 50 rupees a kilogram.

The privatized firms say they are offering more on a the basis as smallholders and workers who have not been prevented by the unions are earning between 40,000 to 75,000 rupees a month on the same basis.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe has told the cabinet of ministers that a bill must be drafted to take over the estate companies that do not implement the minimum wage and “give them to those who can implement them properly”, the statement said.

Separate discussions have been held with estate owners and labour unions, and because the parties could not reach an agreement, the ministry had convened the Wage Boards, said Nanayakkara.

“In the first instance, the estate owners did not attend, and they officially informed us that they would not participate in the second session. Therefore, as a last resort, we proposed a wage of 1,700 rupees, inclusive of a basic wage of 1,350 and a 350 rupee allowances, based on the legal provisions we have. We gazetted this on April 30 and May 1, giving the relevant parties 15 days to file objections,” he said.

“Since no substantial objections were received, the Department of Labour, the government, and I, as the Minister of Labour, finalised the notification last Thursday,” he added.

The Planters’ Association representing said they met President Ranil Wickremesinghe and govt officials and explained that they cannot pay as much as 1700, which works out to 74 percent increase with EPF.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe had requested owners on numerous occasions to raise the wage, said Nanayakkara.

“When this country fell during the time of COVID-19, the estate workers made a great sacrifice because they could not have a meal of rice, a roti, or drink plain tea,” he said. 

“The President repeatedly urged the estate owners to provide a reasonable wage to the workers. However, since we did not receive a satisfactory response, we took this decision. All estate owners will now have to pay this minimum basic wage.”

Tea farm managers say that successive governments have dealt heavy blows to the sector, in the form of the glyphosate ban which lost the country the Japanese market, the fertilizer ban which hit the sector badly and finally the currency crisis, which led cost rises.

Despite all what has done by successive governments to hit the plantations, managers says they have paid salaries and EPF. Meanwhile the residual government managed estates are in arrears of provident fund contributions deducted from the workers own salaries.

The private firms which bought the estates in the mid 1990s had paid 8,000 billion rupees to get the leasehold and last year each estate paid around 80 to 100 million in leases, which was adjusted upwards by the GDP deflator, after the currency crisis. (Colombo/May27/2024)

Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Sabry, and Secretary General of the Global Alliance for a Sustainable Planet USA Satya Tripathi will deliver the Keynote Address.

“Increasing climate disasters and severe food insecurity are putting lives at risk. Sustainable finance is crucial for developing countries, especially island nations, to tackle these challenges head-on. Innovative financial approaches and private sector leadership are essential for a sustainable future anchored in climate justice and inclusive growth for all,” Tripathi said.

The event will feature experts in trade, development and sustainability.

Country Director for Sri Lanka and Maldives at the International Labour Organization (ILO), Joni Simpson will present on SME Development and Opportunities for Women Economic Development Across the Indian Ocean Rim.

Climate and Blue Finance Consultant, Financial Institutions Group at International Finance Corporation (IFC), Jose Gamito Pires, will address the Blue Economy in the IORA Region.

Managing Director and Head of Commercial Banking for The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited in India, Ajay Sharma, will speak on Advancing Trade, Commerce and Investment in the Indian Ocean Rim Region.

The conclave presents trade, investment, and business opportunities across the Indian Ocean Rim, with representation from IORA’s 23 Member States and 12 Dialogue Partners, entrepreneurs, investors, and industry leaders from diverse sectors and economies.

For registration and further information on “Sustaining Growth – Bridging Horizons,” please visit www.ioraconclave.lk or contact Lilakshi on +94115588818 or lilakshi@chamber.lk. (Colombo/May27/2024)

“If the trend continues by the end of next year, we will be short of rooms,” Fernando told EconomyNext on the sidelines of Sancharaka Udawa, a tourism fair.

“The high-end hotels which are charging over 250-300 dollars per night has been having very high occupancy at very high rates.

“But we will have to match the product with the expectations of the people because right now it’s about 10,500 rooms which we offered for high end tourists island wide.”

Hotels chains like Cinnamon began new ventures such as eco-excursion.  

ITC, a new high end recently opened in Colombo and Cinnamon Life is expected to open later in the year.

In order to target high-spending tourists, the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau announced in January the start of a 1.5 billion rupee promotional campaign in 11 key markets including China, Russia, UK and Germany. 

Sri Lanka plans to attract 2.3 million tourists which may go up to 2.5 million under a master plan, Chairman of the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, Chalaka Gajabahu, said at Sancharaka Udawa.

The tourist industry, however, have expressed concern over reaching the target due to summer visitors being put off by minimum room rates and a high fee and a complex website run by VFS Global, a private company after an earlier simple website was scrapped. (Colombo/May27/2024)

Dry weather and heat in March had reduced crop intake.

“There was hardly any rain in tree growing areas in March which affects the crop,” a tea industry official said.

“After the rains from later April, crop is improving in May.”

High grown tea production fell from 6.49 million kilograms to 4.58 million kilograms, according to industry data published by Ceylon Tea Brokers, a Colombo-based commodities brokerage.

Medium growns fell from 4.51 to 3.55 and low growns fell to 13.32 from 14.92 million kilograms.

Tea production for the first four months were down 6.2 percent to 79.7 million kilograms, with growth seen up to the first quarter. (Colombo/May26/2024)

Officials of the Department of Immigration and Ministry of Public Security has declined to attend meeting called on May 28, de Silva said after skipping the previously scheduled meeting.

The next meeting is scheduled for May 04.

“We’ve uncovered many details & will release everything after the final meeting,” de Silva said in a twitter.com post.

“COPF is committed to exposing the truth behind the controversial GBS/IVS tender.”

#COPF meeting on #VFSfiasco postponed again due to Govt officials' unavailability on May 28th. New date: June 4th. We've uncovered many details & will release everything after the final meeting. COPF is committed to exposing the truth behind the controversial GBS/IVS tender.

— Harsha de Silva (@HarshadeSilvaMP) May 25, 2024

The VFS visa deal has led to the scrapping of an easy-to-use online visa system run by Sri Lanka’s mobile for one dollar, and its replacement by a complex VFS Global website which is charging up to 25 dollars for some visas.

Sri Lanka’s cabinet has also lost the ability to issue free visas and there have been charges that ‘free visas’ are charged 11 dollars by VFS Global.

The group’s integrated resort is being re-branded as a ‘City of Dreams’, a brand of Melco.

The resort will have a 687-room Cinnamon Life hotel and the Nuwa hotel described as “ultra-high end”.

“The 113-key exclusive hotel, situated on the top five floors of the integrated resort, will be managed by Melco under its ultra high-end luxury-standard hotel brand ‘Nuwa’, which has presence in Macau and the Philippines,” JKH told shareholders in the annual report.

“Melco’s ultra high-end luxury-standard hotel and casino, together with its global brand and footprint, will strongly complement the MICE, entertainment, shopping, dining and leisure offerings in the ‘City of Dreams Sri Lanka’ integrated resort, establishing it as a one-of-a-kind destination in South Asia and the region.”

Melco is investing 125 million dollars in fitting out its casino.

“The collaboration with Melco, including access to the technical, marketing, branding and loyalty programmes, expertise and governance structures, will be a boost for not only the integrated resort of the Group but a strong show of confidence in the tourism potential of the country,” JKH said.

The Cinnamon Life hotel has already started marketing.

Related Sri Lanka’s Cinnamon Life begins marketing, accepts bookings

(Colombo/May25/2024)

Sri Lanka is 2011 expropriated several private companies including two privatized sugar plantations, and a publicly listed hotel, claiming their assets were ‘underutilized’.

Sri Lanka has been unable to attract foreign investment in the scale of countries like Vietnam despite being socialist one party state, who have created better perceptions about investor protection and labour laws, analysts say.

Sri Lanka’s President Ranil Wickremesinghe in the presence of several plantations sector legislators announced on May Day that a 1,700 rupee a day wage had been ruled by a gazette.

Plantations and worker unions ended collective bargaining after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa ordered a 1,000 rupee a day wage under gazette rule.

Privatized plantations have protested that they cannot pay such wages and a pay system that is broadly based on smallholder system partly based on productivity is being adopted by some workers.

Cabinet spokesman Bandula Gunawardana said a committee had been set up to examine whether or not the companies can pay the wage taking into consideration cost of production and the competitiveness of Sri Lanka tea in the international market.

“The government has given 22 companies under long term lease,” Minister Gunawardana said.

“The president also asked to examine if they are being managed so inefficiently that salaries cannot be paid, to cancel these long-term leases and given them to individuals who can manage them better.”

“Cabinet approval was given to set up a special committee to examine matter relating to cancelling the lease and giving to other parties, if they cannot pay the salaries and develop this land assets.”

Minister Gunawardana was asked how reasonable was the demand by the state to pay mandate wages when plantations which were still under full state ownership in the Sri Lanka State Plantations Corporation and Janatha Estate Development Board, could not even pay the EPF of workers and tax payers have to fork out cash to pay that.

Elkaduwa Plantations, another company under state control also owes workers EPF and ETF according to reports in the public domain.

State Minister for Finance Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said recently that 5 billion taxes collected from the people would be given to state plantations to pay EPF and ETF arrears.

The plantations were privatized in the 1990s because they could not pay wages and tax payer funds of hundreds of millions of rupees, were being made monthly and no replanting was also being done due to inability to pay wages.

Minister Gunawardana was also asked whether threatening expropriation at this juncture, when the country was desperately trying to attract foreign investment was a wise decision.

“it is not a threat,” Minister Gunawardana said. “It is to examine the matter (karunu adyanayak) widely that the President put forward a cabinet paper under the leadership of the Presidential Secretary.

“The idea is to examine whether they are not being managed well enough to pay salaries and if not give them to another investor. Then the investors will get another chance.”

The plantations were privatized under several conditions including restrictions on diversification without the approval of a ‘golden shareholder’ which was the state.

However, it is not clear whether payment of politically decided salaries mandated by gazette, was a condition of the lease.

All Sri Lankan workers have suffered a steep fall in real wages after macro-economists printed money suppress rates to boost ‘growth’ (targeting potential output) leading to a collapse of the rupee.

There has been no official rise in wages by plantation companies since the currency collapse other than the productivity based formula. (Colombo/May24/2024)

The then Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development, Urban Development Authority and CHEC Port City Colombo (Pvt) Ltd signed a tripartite agreement in 2016 with a target completion date of June 5, 2025.

However, due to the pandemic, and the project company’s financial constraints and inability to generate sufficient revenue to meet obligations to creditors, the project will not be completed on time, the minister said.

“Therefore the period of implementation of the Colombo Port City Development Project will be extended to June 5, 2027 with the signing of a supplementary agreement between the Ministry of Investment Promotion, Colombo Port City Economic Commission and CHEC Port City Colombo (Pvt) Ltd company,” Gunawardena told reporters on Thursday.

Earlier this month Sri Lanka’s Export Development Board signed an agreement with CHEC Port City Colombo to attract and facilitate export-oriented businesses. (Colombo/May23/2024)

“Iranawila and Chilaw will be developed as a tourism hub,” Gunawardana on Thursday.

“A golf course is also planned for Chilaw.”

Sri Lanka already has several golf course in Colombo, Kandy and Nuwara Eliya.

Sri Lanka has five 18-hole golf courses and several 9-hole golf courses and is currently promoting itself as a destination for golf tourism.

A connecting road will also be built between Chilaw and Bingiriya where and export zone is being expanded, Minister Gunawardana said.

The task of developing the Chilaw-Iranawila tourism hub will be handed over to a task force charged with the integrated development plan for Bingiriya. (Colombo/May23/2024)

A task force of ministerial secretaries will be appointed to carry out the tasks speedily, following a cabinet paper submitted by President Ranil Wickremesinghe said.

The Bingiriya zone already has 157 acres and another 282 acres is being developed by the Board of Investment, he said.

Steps would also be taken to acquire 666 acres.

There was no information whose lands would be acquired. (Colombo/May23/2024)