AJITH SIRIWARDANA 
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Reversal on land sales to foreigners
The Government has sought Cabinet approval for legal exemption to sell 25 acres of land in Negombo, 44 acres in Kimbulapitiya and two roods, 26 perches from Bambalapitiya to a Singaporean Company to establish a private university and related infrastructure, Daily Mirror learns.
The present law does not provide for the selling of private or crown land to a foreign national or a foreign company. Such properties can only be leased out for 99 years under the prevailing regulations.
Investment Promotion Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardane submitted a Cabinet memorandum on January 2 seeking approval for the outright sale of these blocks of land to Raffles Education Corporation Limited of Singapore for the establishment of a private university and related infrastructure facilities by-passing the existing laws. It is a company which has no equity share with Sri Lanka.
The Board of Investment (BoI) had permitted this company to purchase this land on January 16, 2013. The relevant taxes, involved in the land transfer or purchases have also been waived off. The Finance Ministry had in a new regulation effective from January 1 last year had banned such outright sales.
However, the Cabinet paper says the Finance Minister has the power to validate such transactions with foreigners or foreign companies, subject to the volume of foreign exchange being brought in through the proposed investments and the related economic benefits to the country. Cabinet approval has to be obtained for this purpose.
Therefore the government has sought an exemption for the outright sale of the land in Negombo, Kimbulapitiya and Bambalapitiya to this company.
The company is a leading private education group in the Asia-Pacific region. Since establishing its first college in Singapore in 1990, the Group has grown to operate 31 colleges in 29 cities across 12 countries in Asia-Pacific.
The Cabinet paper says the company will put up a campus with proper classrooms, lecture halls, a modern library, hostels, administrative blocks, computer laboratories, a sports complex, and a music and art theatre. It is expected to cater to about 4,000 students. There are plans to establish a students’ village as well.(kelum Bandara)
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