More statutory powers for BOI, assures Dilum Amunugama

In a bid to further facilitate investors through speedy approvals for investment projects, thereby easing the ease of doing business, the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka (BOI) will be granted more powers in the future, Investment Promotion State Minister Dilum Amunugama stated.

He stressed that the new powers would see investors being given more efficient clearance processes for relevant projects, offering investors additional certainty and clarity. The State Minister made these remarks during a discussion held with the BOI trade union representatives recently.

“It is evident that the modus operandi in obtaining necessary approvals for investment projects causes significant hindrances to investors, which has a considerable bearing on the willingness and confidence of the investors to continue their business. In fact, some projects require approvals from 70 institutions,” Amunugama highlighted.

“In this context, attention has been drawn to leveraging a business model called the plug-and-play model where all clearances and other prerequisites will be in place before the project is awarded to any investor. Here, the business firms are not required to focus on the basic requirements for setting up a business as everything is arranged by the relevant authority, which would be the BOI” he explained.

“With the new powers in place, the BOI will be equipped to act more independently and effectively and thus, upbeat about wooing more investors to Sri Lana,” Amunugama added.