November 20, 2020: China will build a 300 million US dollar tyre plant in Sri Lanka’s Hambantota port that will export nine million tyres in its first phase, the island’s investment promotion office said.
Shandong Haohua Tire Co. Ltd will be given tax benefits under a Strategic Development Act, the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka said.
The factory which will employ 2,000 workers will be in a 121 acre space in the Hambantota Port industrial zone.
The land is provided to Shandong Haohua Tire Co. Ltd by Hambantota International Port Group (HIPG), a unit of China’s CM Ports, which runs the port and its adjacent industrial zone.
The factory will start operations in three years and in the first phase nine million tyres, enough to fill 45,000 containers will be exported, the BOI said.
It will provide business to the port.
BOI Chairman Susantha Ratnayake, Cao Mingzhang from the company and Xu Jiancun from Hambantota International Port Group had signed the agreement.
Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, Minister of Youth and Sports Namal Rajapaksa, his sone, Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Qi Zhenhong and Shandong HaohuaWang Keqiang joined the signing ceremony online.
Source: economy next