A new tyre factory, mainly for exports, opens in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka’s largest manufacturing facility for tyres and radials, Ferentino Tyre Corporation (Pvt) Ltd, was declared open by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa this week. The Minister of Industries Wimal Weerawansa, Minister of Ports and Shipping Rohitha Abeygunwardena and several other ministers participated at the event.

The facility constructed with an investment of US$250 million is the brainchild of entrepreneur Nandana Lokuwithana who currently holds Chairmanship of Ceylon Steel Corporation (Pvt) Ltd. The landmark project is the first and only one of its kind in Sri Lanka and is tipped to be the largest such facility in the whole of South Asia manuf a c t u r i n g Passenger Car Radials (PCR) including specialised category for SUVs, two- wheelers, three-wheelers, trucks, buses and solid tyres seamlessly combining local talent with sophisticated European technology. A massive boost for the country’s export sector, the new manufacturing plant seamlessly combines the stateof-the-art European technology in tyre manufacturing with local craftsmanship for an optimum, world-class output. The project is facilitated by the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka (BOI) and aims to generate a substantial amount of employment opportunities directly and indirectly.

Ferentino Tyres will use locally sourced rubber as a main ingredient thereby compelling the local industry to level itself to deliver to the global expectation. Phase 1 of the project has already been completed and thus was commissioned while construction of Phase 2 is well on schedule to be completed in March 2022. Speaking at the launch, Chairman of Ferentino Tyre Corporation ( Pvt) Ltd Mr. Lokuwithana said: “We are excited to commence operations at this timely juncture giving the local economy the much needed gentle push to recover from post-pandemic challenges particularly pertaining to employment and export revenue. I would like to extend my gratitude to the President for his vision of elevating Sri Lanka to become an industrial hub in the ensuing years and thank Government officials, especially the BOI, who work tirelessly toward the same unified goal. I hope Ferentino Tyres will serve to inspire and incentivize other discerning investors to explore the many exciting opportunities that Sri Lanka holds.” He highlighted that this manufacturing facility will be an equal opportunity employer having hired many capable and qualified females for technical roles changing the hitherto prevalent status quo in the manufacturing sector. Furthermore, the plant has been designed thoughtfully to be environmentally conscious. Mr. Lokuwithana also owns the Onyx Group in the UAE with a host of subsidiaries including a steel fabrication company. His other investments include: Marriot Al Jaddaf Hotel in Dubai, up- coming state- ofthe art Cement Grinding Plant in Mirijjawila Hambantota which will be commissioned in May 2021 and Marangoni Industrial Tyres Lanka (Pvt) Ltd.