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ECONOMYNEXT – The Sri Lanka Cement Corporation, with around 5,000 acres of mineral resource-rich land, is to be restructured, the State Minister of Primary Industries has said.
“With arrangements in place to develop it, the corporation is expected to generate revenue of around USD300 million annually,” Chamara Sampath said at a press briefing held on Wednesday (7) at the President’s Media Centre.
“An institution has already been selected to propose a plan for this transformation,” Dassanayake was quoted in a statement by the PMC.
What the institution is and details of the planned development were not given.
The State Minister said his ministry faced challenges from NGOs. “While our phosphate company possesses valuable mineral resources estimated at Rs 24 million, legal challenges from NGOs currently prevent us from profiting from them. Despite this hurdle, we successfully generated income through phosphate sales, enabling us to cover all loans, fulfil salary payments, and contribute Rs 350 million to the Treasury.”
“Similarly, we generated profit from salt mines in Elephant Pass and Mannar, further contributing Rs 100 million to the Treasury. These examples demonstrate the potential of utilizing our nation’s resources for economic benefit.”
“However, challenges such as legal cases against phosphate exports can arise. Giving up on resource utilization due to difficulties would be a disservice to our struggling nation. In these times, maximizing the potential of our resources becomes even more crucial,” Dassanayake said. (Colombo/Feb8/2024)
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