(COLOMBO, LANKAPUVATH) – Minister of Megapolis & Western Development, Hon. Patali Champika Ranawaka and H.E. Taranjit Singh Sandhu, High Commissioner of India inaugurated the 8th Sri Lanka Buildcon International Expo & 7th Wood International Expo 2019 in Colombo today.
Ms Niluka Ekanayaka, Chairperson, State Timber Corporation, Mr. Prem Anveshi, MD, Futurex Trade Fair & Events Pvt. Ltd, Mr. Amit Panjwani, Director, Confederation of Indian Industry, Mr. Pramuk Dediwala, MD, ALUMEX PLC, Sri Lanka, Mr. Nishal Ferdinando, CEO JAT Holdings, Mr. Imran Hassan, MD, CDC Events & Travels and other dignitaries were also present.
More than 70 Indian companies with a focus on varied products and services related to Engineering, Procurement & Construction (EPC), Commercial & Residential Building Construction, Government & Civil Infrastructure are participating in the Exhibition, supported by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India.
Hon. Patali Champika Ranawaka appreciated the role of construction sector in uplifting the Sri Lankan economy. He expressed hope that such exhibitions would facilitate greater international collaboration at the industry and people level. Minister also thanked the CII for organizing large scale Indian participation at the event.
High Commissioner, in his address, noted that the large participation of Indian companies in the recent Exhibitions is a reflection of the trust that Indian companies and industry groups repose in the Sri Lankan economy and its people, which are making all efforts to recover from Easter Sunday Attack.
High Commissioner added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s solidarity visit to Sri Lanka sent an important message to the Indian tourists and Industry who are back in big numbers driving all the supply chains in the Sri Lankan economy. He noted that in the last two months Indian tourists arrivals in Sri Lanka are the highest, more than double the number of tourists from the second highest source.
He also pointed out that while the demand for new infrastructure should be met quickly and smoothly, there was also a need for demand to be studied first and to be catered to, in environment-friendly ways. There was a need to harmonise growth trajectory with environment sustainability. While expressing his happiness over presence of a number of Sri Lankan companies in the Indian market, he called for greater collaboration as India’s construction industry is expected to be USD 1 trillion by 2025.
The Exhibition ends on 08 September 2019.
