The Ministry of Economic Development together with the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka (BOI) is planning to lease a land belonging to Milco Private Limited in Colombo, to be developed as a mixed development project.

The 13.5 acre land bordering Kirimandela Mawatha in Nawala will be available on a long-term lease base for the prospective investor who should submit a sound business proposal.

An official at the BOI confirmed to Mirror Business that the lease is available for the selected investor for a period of 30 to 99 years.

“The building on the land is still in place, and once the investor is selected and the deal has been finalized, we will be demolishing the building and making the land available for the said investor,” he said.

He added that tax relief and other incentives will be offered to the selected investor depending on the size of the investment.

“For instance, if the investment exceeds USD 25 million, the investor will be getting a tax relief of 12 years,” he noted adding that the minimuminvestmentwasUSD3million.

The tax relief will vary according to the size of the investment. For an example, a four year tax relief will be granted for a USD 3 million investment.

Meanwhile the official stated that the Cabinet of Ministers has already granted approval for the Milco land transfer to the BOI.

The advertisement published by the BOI further states that electricity, water, access roads and other infrastructure facilities will also be an attraction for the prospective investor.

Milco Private Limited was established in 1956 as The National Milk Board under the purview of the Ministry of Agriculture. It commenced operations with a single Factory in Colombo commissioned under the Colombo Plan.

In 1986, the National Milk Board was converted into Milk Industries of Lanka Company Limited as a government-owned company.

Thereafter in 1998, Kiriya Milk Industries of Lanka (Pvt) Ltd. took over the administration of Milk Industries of Lanka Company Limited. Later in year 2000, Kiriya was taken back by the government and in 2001 it was named Milco (Pvt) Ltd, which now stands as a 100 % government-owned company.