Sri Lanka moves to modernise plastic industry

Sri Lanka’s plastic industry is expected to get much-needed support when the Industry Ministry and UNIDO launch a nationwide initiative to modernise it. As the

country’s per capita plastic consumption is set to increase from current 6kg to 8kg, and given that plastics have become indispensable items in our everyday life, the national initiative with UNIDO is targeted at increasing the production and revenues by almost 40%, according to Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen. Minister Bathiudeen made the announcement after the in-depth discussion and presentation to the Minister by the visiting International Centre for Advancement of Manufacturing Technology (ICAMT) delegation on 10 May at the Ministry of Industry and Commerce. The ICAMT is the ISO 9001:2008 certified International Technology Centre operated by UNIDO and located in Bangalore, India. An initial value of $ 1.75 million has been set for the modernization project. According to UNIDO, annual plastics consumption in Sri Lanka is close to 140,000 metric tonnes, with an estimated growth rate of 10% to 12%. More than 900 businesses in Sri Lanka are engaged in plastics processing.