Minister of Industry and Health

By PRIYAN DE SILVA

Minister of Industry and Health, Dr. Ramesh Pathirana, at a press conference held at the Presidential Media Centre recently, said that the government intended to attract more pharmaceutical manufacturers to establish factories in Sri Lanka so that seventy-five to eighty percent (75% to 80%) of the country’s pharmaceutical requirement could be met locally.

At present, only about twenty percent (20%) of pharmaceutical drugs needed by Sri Lanka were being manufactured locally, he said.

The Minister added that a National Policy for Industrial Development (NaPID) had been formulated and forwarded to the Ministry of Finance for approval before being presented to the Cabinet. The NaPID was to be included in Sri Lanka’s National Policy Framework (2023-2048), Dr Pathirana said, adding that at present the land allocated for industries was only 0.4 % of the total land area of the country and it was the government’s intention to increase it to at least one percent in the future.

Dr. Pathirana said that three new industrial zones had been opened in Milleniya in the Kalutara District, Elpitiya in the Galle District ,and Poththapitiya in the Kandy District; it was intended to establish industrial zones in Aluthapola, Dambulla, Sandamalgama, Suriyawewa, Mahawa and Wellawaya in the near future.