Colombo (LNW): In a desperate bid to direct the cash strapped country towards the reawakening of investment promotion and development, the Sri Lanka government will be digitizing investment information to facilitate easy access for investors and efficient use of state owned land to boost agriculture.
Overall, these measures indicate the Government’s commitment to promoting investment and economic growth in Sri Lanka by ensuring that the necessary infrastructure and legislative frameworks are in place to attract and support local and foreign investors, the President’s Media Division said.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe has highlighted the importance of promptly identifying unused Government-owned land and creating a data bank with the relevant information.
The President’s Media Division said the move reflects the Government’s commitment to promoting investment and efficient use of land in Sri Lanka by leveraging appropriate policies, frameworks, and technologies.
The President has also given instructions to digitize investment information to make it easily and quickly accessible to interested parties. The purpose of this move is to encourage and promote investment opportunities in Sri Lanka, allowing investors to identify new investment prospects with ease.
In addition to this, the President has also pointed out the need for revising the Agricultural Development Act and Paddy Land Act to meet the current requirements.
This is expected to facilitate and promote investment opportunities in the agricultural sector, which is a vital contributor to Sri Lanka’s economy.
The need of the digitization of public and private institutions in promoting investments in Sri Lanka and the need to establish a single point for obtaining all necessary approvals for investment promptly has also been emphasised.
The President has directed relevant officials to study the practical problems and difficulties that have arisen in relation to enhancing the rank in the Ease of Doing Business Index in Sri Lanka and make its proposals and recommendations.
Mainly, the 82 percent of land that the government is holding, they have to let it go in a scientific methodical manner
How they can do that is to have a non-partisan expert panel to advise and set policies and adopt methods such as GIS mapping to identify the soil and ecosystem in areas and recommend crops that can be grown. Government is to use its resources and clear a lot of agricultural land and have agriculture zones like the BOI. The aim is to create a level playing field for producers by giving fair value and correct information asymmetry.
