COLOMBO — Sri Lanka’s Industrial Development Board (IDB) has entered into an agreement with the operator of Hambantota International Port (HIP) to establish a “smart facilitation center” to smoothen processes for foreign investors, local media reported here Friday.

Minister of Industries Wimal Weerawansa was quoted in the Daily FT saying that the facilitation center in proximity to the HIP will help fast-track services for export-oriented industries. The center is also expected to help investors locate real estate and fast-track approvals from other institutions.

“The Hambantota Port, once it establishes as a full-service port, will bring in foreign exchange to our country. We need projects that can earn dollars,” Weerawansa said.

CEO of Hambantota International Port Group (HIPG) Johnson Liu said that the establishment of an IDB facilitation center was a positive development for the entire southern region of Sri Lanka and that the success of the HIP was interdependent on Sri Lanka’s economic success.

“It is not just the port’s industrial zone that we are looking at but all the other industrial zones outside the port which will use HIP to import raw materials and export finished products,” Liu said.

The IDB smart facilitation center will be located at the Hambantota Maritime Center, which is Hambantota Port’s administrative building, on a sub-lease basis. The building will house other logistical and commercial services.

The HIP is located in the south of Sri Lanka and is 10 nautical miles off one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.