In a fresh private-sector push to turn red tape into foreign exchange, the Free Trade Zone Manufacturers Association (FTZMA) urged the Board of Investment (BOI) to establish a dedicated national window to fast-track viable ideas capable of earning or saving foreign currency.
The proposed ‘National Facilitation and Activation Window’ would give investors, businesses, professionals, universities, industry bodies and members of the Sri Lankan diaspora a single channel to submit commercially viable proposals and seek the government facilitation needed to implement them.
The detailed proposal, unanimously endorsed by the FTZMA Executive Committee, was handed over to BOI Chairman Duminda Hulangamuwa and Director General Dr. Sulakshana Jayawardena.
Although the proposed window would be placed with the BOI, the FTZMA envisages it as a national entry point. Proposals outside the BOI’s mandate would be referred to the relevant state institution, while the BOI would continue coordinating the case until the applicant receives a clear response.
Explaining this approach, the FTZMA said: “No idea would die simply because its owner knocked on the wrong door. Under this design, there is no wrong door.”
The proposed mechanism would not operate as another complaints desk. Applicants would be required to present a workable solution, identify who would implement it, demonstrate the private resources available and specify the government decision or approval required.
“The Government does not have to build the activity. It has to open the path, and private energy does the rest,” the FTZMA said.
Under the proposal, every complete submission would be assigned a BOI case officer and receive a preliminary decision within a maximum of one month. Straightforward cases could be resolved within days, while proposals requiring regulatory testing could be pursued through limited and supervised pilot projects.
The FTZMA said the mechanism’s success should be measured by foreign exchange actually received and confirmed through the banking system, rather than the number of proposals collected, meetings held or investments announced.
According to the association, the window could be operated by a small team of existing officials at almost no additional cost to the Treasury, as investment in approved ventures would come from the private sector.
The FTZMA said the initiative had become more urgent as Sri Lanka prepares for heavier debt repayments after 2028. New foreign exchange-generating ventures require time to obtain approvals, secure customers, invest, recruit and begin delivering returns, it noted.
“A country that borrowed its way into difficulty cannot borrow its way out. It can only earn its way out, and earning takes lead time,” the association said.
“This proposal did not come from frustration. It came from confidence,” the FTZMA added. “We believe this recovery has created a short and precious window in which Sri Lanka can build the earning capacity it has lacked for nearly half a century.”
The association has pledged to support the BOI in implementing the mechanism and provide an initial pipeline of credible proposals from its members. It also called on chambers, professional bodies, universities and diaspora organisations to support the initiative.
