65 million rupee ice plant to be constructed in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Friday, 25 March 2005, 02:16 GMT]
The Business Development Centre (BDC) network Wednesday signed an agreement with K.Thurairajah and Sons Private Limited headquartered in Trincomalee to establish a modern ice plant with the Chinese technology with a capacity to produce seventy tones of ice per day. The ice plant will be constructed at a cost of 65 million rupees in Nilaveli about sixteen km north of Trincomalee with machinery and technology imported from Dalian Group, China. The project is to commence production in January 2006, BDC sources said.

Mr.Thurairajah, Chairman and two Directors Mr.T.Uthayakumaran and Mr.T.Uthayashankar of K.Thurairajah and Sons Private Ltd.are seen with the Government Agent and BDC staff after the signing event.

Mr.Thurairajah speaking at the event

Mr.Thurairajah ( L) and mr.T.M.Riswi ( R ) exchange documents after signing the agreement. Mr.Gamini Rodrigo, Government Agent is seen in the middle

Mr.K.Thurairajah, Chairman of K.Thurairajah and Sons Private Limited and Mr.T.M.Risvi, BDC Eastern Region Centre manager and marketing Advisor signed the agreement in the presence of Mr.Gamini Rodrigo, Trincomalee Government Agent in the BDC Centre Trincomalee office.

Currently two ice plants operating in Trincomalee daily produce only about 100 tones of ice blocks against the demand for six hundred tones. About five hundred of tones of ice are transported daily from Colombo and other districts to cover the shortage.

"Taking into consideration this fact the BDC in Trincomalee has identified setting up of an Ice Plant in the Trincomalee district as a priority investment .The BDC management approached K.Thurairajah and Sons Private Limited and they consented to invest in this project," said Mr.R.Selvarajah, Technical Advisor of the BDC in Trincomalee.

The management of the plant is taken over by the BDC professional staff, from selection of machinery, installation and commercial production to maintenance of the plant, he added.

Dr. Margaret Kuruppu, Director, Enterprise Services, (SEEDS) Ltd and staff of the BDC in Trincomalee were present at the event.

Funding for the BDC network, which is jointly owned and operated, by the Industrial Services Bureau (ISB), Sri Lanka Business Development Centre (SLBDC) and the Sarvodaya Economic Enterprise Development Services (Gte) Ltd. (SEEDS) has been provided by the Business Services Support facility (BSSF) under the Small and Medium Enterprise Sector (SME) Development programme, a joint project of the Government of Sri Lanka and Asian Development Bank, sources said.