The Hon. Sivagnanam Shritharan
Under Standing Order 27(2), Hon. Sivagnanam Shritharan asked the Minister of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development about the long-closed Valaichchenai Paper Factory in Batticaloa, noting its former role as a major employer and the potential for youth employment if revived. He sought details on the land extent, reasons for the failure to fully restart operations, whether alternative industrial uses have been studied or planned, and an explanation of previous revival attempts and why they failed.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, under Standing Order 27(2), I pose the following questions to the Hon. Sunil Handunnetti, Minister of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development:
¶ 02 The Valaichchenai Paper Factory in Batticaloa district, established in the 1960s, employed hundreds. Due to the civil war, it remained closed for over 30 years. As the largest employer in the Eastern Province then, its revival could provide employment to many youths.
¶ 03 1. What is the extent of land on which the factory stands? 2. Why has the factory not been fully restarted? 3. If it cannot be revived as a paper factory, has the Government studied alternative industries for the site? 4. Does the Government currently have plans to initiate such industries? 5. Will the Hon. Minister explain the previous efforts to restart the factory and the reasons for their failure?
Provenance
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- Hansard, Thursday, 20 March 2025 ·No. 1746596381071973 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. Sivagnanam Shritharan. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 20 March 2025. No. 1746596381071973. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/24040