Press briefing of Cabinet Decision taken on 2017-06-13

Lease of a block of land within the Welipatanwila Fishery Harbour premises for a Yacht construction facility

- Even though the Fishery Habour Corporation has entered into an Agreement in the year 2014 to provide a block of land in extent of 01 acre and 6.4 perches within the Beruwala Harbour premises to the Building a Future Foundation (BAFF) Company registered under the Board of Investment which has already commenced its business activities in the Koggala Industrial Estate, for the construction of yachts to be used for passenger transport to support the tourist industry and recreational and sports activities, it has not been possible to hand over the land up to date as a result of the inability to get the consent of the fishing community to this arrangement.

As such, a site called Muththalagahalanda in Ussangoda situated in close proximity to the Welipatanwila Fishery Anchorage in the Ambalantota Divisional Secretary's Division has been selected as an alternative land suitable for locating this project and accordingly, the proposal made by Hon. Mahinda Amaraweera, the Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development, to hand over the land in extent of 01 acre to the company concerned, on lease basis, based on the Government Valuation, was approved by the Cabinet.