The defunct State-run Embilipitiya paper mill is set to revive via a fresh Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) with Korean Spa Packaging Ltd in a joint venture with an investment of US$ 16 million, BOI sources said.
Although the Cabinet of Ministers had approved a previous proposal submitted In March 2022 to formally lease 111 acres, two roods and 33 perches of this National Paper Company on a 30-year lease to Korean Spa Packaging Ltd., the decision could not be implemented as the said land was not regularised properly.
.The Embilipitiya Paper Mill was first set up in 1978, closed in 2003 and resumed in 2011. However, after brief operations, it was closed again in 2012 to date.
Korean SPA Packaging (Pvt.) Ltd. (KSPA), recently signed an agreement with the Board of Investment (BOI) with respect to the resumption of the operation at the defunct Embilipitiya Paper Mill
The project, which is a US$ 16 million-investment in its first phase, aims at manufacturing industrial grade papers for the direct and indirect export market by upgrading machinery and infrastructure.
Subsequently, the factory was up for sale and this is when the KSPA decided to resurrect this giant corporation through a Public Private Partnership (PPP) amid a spate of hurdles. Accordingly, the investment agreement was signed recently, with the BOI making it a backward integration, to manufacture paper for the corrugated industry.
Commenting on the project, BOI Chairman Raja Edirisuriya said “It seems that the KSPA is taking the paper industry to a next level with its new project and it is commendable that the industry is in safe hand,”
“It has to be said that the KSPA is setting an example for the entire business community where they manifest the actual role to be played by the private companies, at a juncture where the country is standing at a crossroads. Mr. Edirisuriya added.
Meanwhile, BOI Director General Renuka M. Weerakone, pointed out “This is a timely undertaking by the KSPA given the rising paper prices in the world market and current scarcity of paper due to the dollar crisis in the country,”
”KSPA should be felicitated for their initiative to take up a massive challenge to resume the operations of the abandoned Embilipitiya Paper Mill, which is slated to generate nearly 1,000 direct and indirect job opportunities and boost the livelihood of the people in Embilipitiya.
The new venture will also save extensive outflow of dollars,” Ms Weerakone stated.
Expressing his sentiments, KSPA and Anunine Holdings Chairman, Mr. Anurath Abeyratne spelled out “that he has decided to take up the challenge to resume the production at the defunct state paper mill at Embilipitiya to prevent dollars from flowing out of the country, generate job opportunities and giving a hand to uplift the economy at large,”
Mr. Abeyratne also disclosed his vision and commitment to bringing the paper mill to its full functionality by 2023. Elaborating further on his vision for this mega-project,
Mr. Abeyratne hinted at a planned second phase with an addition of a pulp mill to recycle waste paper and produce wet pulp which will be exported to international markets to generate forex.
KSPA is 100% Sri Lankan owned, BOI accredited portfolio company of Anunine Holdings; a highly diversified, privately held, family-owned group of companies;
It is active in the fields of packaging, tire manufacturing, sugar manufacturing, renewable energy, trading, plastic and waste recycling, garment accessories manufacturing, agriculture, nanotechnology, and blockchain technology with a thirty year history in the export sector and over two thousand direct employees.
