Press briefing of Cabinet Decision taken on 2015-07-29

Development of Apparel and Allied Industries in Welioya and Musali Divisional Secretariat Divisions

- Cabinet approval has already been granted to establish Apparel and Allied Industries to elevate the income level and the living conditions of the unemployed and resettled people living in the Welioya and Musali Divisional Secretarys' Divisions. Although, the construction of factories should be carried out through utilizing the funds of the investors, as per the said approval, it has not been able to achieve the task successfully as the investors are reluctant to invest on such buildings, since these areas are situated in the remote districts such as Mullativu and Mannar.

According to a survey conducted, it has been revealed that over 2,500 workers in these two divisions are willing to employ in apparel industry, out of them 500 are skilled workers with experience in the field. Accordingly, the proposal made by Hon. Rishad Bathiudeen, the Minister of Industry and Commerce, to construct three factories each on the lands identified in the Welioya and Musali Divisional Secretary Divisions, by the Government and to recover the expenditure incurred on factories from the investors as long term lease rental, based on the Government valuation, was approved by the Cabinet.