JEDDAH — The licensing procedures for establishing a Free Zone in Sri Lanka are nearing completion, according to Sheikh Rafik Mohammed, chairman of the Gammon Middle East Group, developer of the project. “The $1.2 billion worth Free Zone and infrastructure projects, which will be implemented in association with the Dubai-based NTS Group, are expected to create around 100,000 jobs. Our second round of talks with the Sri Lankan government in this regard were completed last week,” said Mohammed, who returned from Colombo after meeting with Dr. Harsha de Silva, deputy minister of foreign affairs, and other senior Sri Lankan officials. The meeting was also attended by Gammon Group CEO Dr. Faiz Al-Abideen, the Abu Dhabi-based leading NRI business magnate Dr. Francis Cleetus, and Gammon Aviation Managing Director Safar Ahmad. Speaking to Saudi Gazette, Mohammed said that Gammon Group, with the launching of the Free Zone, expects an inflow of millions of dollars worth foreign investments to the island nation. “The Gammon Group has been assigned to attract investors to Sri Lanka, apart from developing the Free Zone project.” He said that procedures are under way for the acquisition of land for the multibillion riyal projects. “The Sri Lankan government had already conveyed to the Gammon Group that it was ready to hand over 700 acres of land in Polonnaruwa and Valachchenai in the Eastern Province of the country, for setting up of the Free Zone and a knowledge city, which are expected to play a critical role in the economic development of the eastern province, the worst-affected region in the civil war. A formal decision had been taken in this respect during earlier discussions held with the Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena and Minister of Home Affairs Amir Ali Shahabdeen,” he said, adding that details of the projects were discussed recently with officials like Upul Jayasuriya, chairman of Board of Investments of Sri Lanka. “Extensive talks on the proposed Free Zone, as well as hospitals, roads and many other infrastructure projects, have been completed last week following the earlier meetings with the president,” he said. Mohammed said his group was immensely pleased and proud to shoulder the responsibility of setting up the Free Zone in a way fulfilling the great trust reposed on it by the Sri Lankan leaders. “Gammon Group is keen on tapping the immense potential for development in the island nation, especially in the Eastern Province, which is an ethnically mixed and economically deprived region heavily hit by the two-decade-long civil war. Since the restoration of internal peace and normalcy in the country, many Indian firms have started showing interest in investing in Sri Lanka and the Free Zone would open up new doors for them,” Mohammed said. According to Mohammed, the Free Zone project will be implemented in association with the Dubai-based NTS Group. Dr. Francis Cleetus is the chairman & managing director of NTS Group, under which there are 16 prominent companies in different disciplines such as recruitment, infrastructure and technical services. He said the biggest motivation for Sri Lanka to enter the Free Zone experiment came from the example set by Dubai, which had astounded the world with its successful Free Zone projects. Mohammed said the proposed Free Zone would be devoted to industries after taking into account Colombo's priorities. “The government wanted to establish more industrial plants in the fields of manufacturing tire, paint, and electrical appliances, and of course there will be a priority for such industries in the Free Zone,” he said. Mohammed, an Indian-born entrepreneur, had been invited to discuss the possibilities of managing the infrastructural development of Sri Lanka by Sirisena in March this year. During the visit, he attended a dinner hosted by Sirisena in honor of the visiting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. During the visit, Mohammed also met Modi in Colombo. The group, with its corporate office in Jeddah, has been assigned to develop the SR75 billion Jazan Industrial City by bringing in foreign investors to build its entire infrastructure facilities. The UAE-based Indian business tycoon B.R. Shetty has already entered into agreement for investing in the Jazan project.
