Shree Renuka Sugars to set up $220 mn refinery complex in Lanka

Project would result in foreign exchange savings of nearly $450 million for Sri Lanka

Shree Renuka Sugars Ltd has signed an agreement with Sri Lanka's state investment arm, Board of Investment (BOI), for setting up a $220 million sugar refinery complex at Hambantota in the south.

The proposed project plans to bring inedible raw sugar from Brazil in bulk and add value locally by refining it in the complex, BOI said in a statement.

The refined sugar would be sold locally as well as exported from Hambantota Port. The sugar refinery would have a world scale capacity and contribute to over 1 million tonne of cargo movement at the Hambantota Port.

The project would result in foreign exchange savings of nearly $450 million for the country, BOI said.

It will also create some 300 direct employment opportunities for locals and indirect employment for nearly 1,500 people, it added.

Shree Renuka Sugars Chairperson Vidya Murkumbi, who was present at the occasion, said the company looked forward to starting the work on the project within a few months.

In India, the company has its refinery in the East and West coast and Hambantota is strategically well located to get logistics leverage for its operations, the statement added.