Airtel Sri Lanka signs new investment agreement with BOI

From left: Airtel Lanka CEO/Managing Director Ashish Chandra with BOI Chairman Raja Edirisuriya

Airtel Sri Lanka yesterday said it entered into an investment agreement with the Board of Investment (BOI) to channel foreign currency investments for the development of the country’s telecom infrastructure, with emphasis on expansion and optimisation of networks and IT systems.   

A press statement issued by the telecom services provider however did not specify the size of the investment it is making. 

According to the press statement, over the next two years, Airtel will be channelling its latest round of investments towards additional enhancements to its network, in addition to introducing significant software upgrades, in order to strengthen 2G and 4G services island-wide.    

“Since our entry into Sri Lanka in 2007, Airtel has continuously invested to developa world class network. Today, these efforts are empowering more than 3 million Sri Lankans to stay connected, in addition to providing more than 2,000 direct and indirect employment opportunities and generating income for a further 65,000 Sri Lankans through our extensive 
distribution network. 

“Particularly at a time when every foreign direct investment into Sri Lanka has become vital, our investment demonstrates Airtel’s continuing confidence in the resilience and vast potential of the Sri Lankan people, and recommit ourselves to the nation-wide efforts to help revive the Sri Lankan economy,” Airtel Sri Lanka MD/CEO, Ashish Chandra stated. Airtel will also be replacing or upgrading existing network infrastructure including but not limited to its core network, as well as introducing significant software upgrades. Moving forward, Ashish also stated that Airtel Sri Lanka will continue to pursue every opportunity to support the development of the Sri Lankan telco sector. In particular he noted that the company would leverage on Airtel’s unique strength as one of the top 3 largest telco’s in the world in order to create cross-border synergies and facilitate strategic investments towards the creation of vibrant 5G ecosystems in Sri Lanka. 

“We are grateful to Airtel Sri Lanka for stepping forward at a crucial moment for the nation, and with such a substantial foreign direct investment. This major contribution towards the enhancement of Sri Lanka’s ICT infrastructure will also create new opportunities across all sectors of the economy, and stands as an ideal example of the kind of FDI inflows we are working to generate,” stated Chairman, BOI Raja Edirisuriya. 

The recent agreement marks the latest in a series of foreign direct investments made by Airtel Sri Lanka into enhancing mobile telco experiences for the average Sri Lankan. These measures follow on upgrades made by Airtel to its presence, capacity and capabilities in the Sri Lankan market. Most recently, these included the launch of Airtel’s revolutionary 4G Freedom Unlimited packages, and its record-breaking 
5G trials.