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Wimal not bitter about Phosphate Company

21 Jun 2021

By Buddhika Samaraweera   Following the gazetting of Lanka Phosphate Company – which was under the Ministry of Industries – under the Ministry of Agriculture, Minister of Industries Wimal Weerawansa has said that his intention is to see the Eppawala Phosphate Deposit and Lanka Phosphate Ltd. (LPL) thrive and succeed under any ministry, and that it would continue to be a profitable state enterprise.  He said in a press release that for nearly a year and a half as the Industries Minister, he had given his fullest support to LPL to carry out its operations successfully and that LPL was brought to a profit-making status in 2020/2021. He also said that he had not exerted undue pressure on its administration or internal processes during that period. Also, several new projects were planned to be launched in the next few years in collaboration with LPL, he added. “During the period of the previous Government, LPL recorded its biggest loss for the financial year 2016/17, recording a total operating loss of Rs. 80.8 million. However, during my tenure as the Industries Minister, a remarkable operating profit of over Rs. 104.6 million was recorded from late 2020 to June 2021. The recent rise in LPL is one of the prime examples of how loss-making companies can become profitable,” he said. In the release, he also said that discussions were held regularly to give maximum benefit to the country and the farming community from the Eppawala phosphate deposit. Accordingly, it was decided to add value to the Eppawala phosphate fertilisers and to introduce a “Eppawala Rock Phosphate (ERP) package” to prevent phosphorus deficiency in organic fertilisers, he elaborated. “LPL also decided to launch a special project to produce ‘biogenic microbial phosphate’ with the help of experts, doctors, and researchers in the field. With the prevailing situation caused by Covid-19, it was delayed on several occasions. However, on 23 June, the Ministry is scheduled to sign an agreement on the launch and maintenance of the ‘Organic Green Phosphate’ fertiliser project," he further stated in the release. Weerawansa also said: “Under the theme ‘Apita Pohora – Apima Hadamu’, we were able to introduce a 1 kg Eppawala Rock Phosphate (ERP) packet called ‘Eppawala Pohora’ which can be added to 20 kg of organic fertiliser.” Adding that organic fertilisers contain adequate amounts of nitrogen and potassium, he claimed that the reduction in phosphorus content could be avoided by the Eppawala fertiliser mixture which was introduced when the LPL was under his ministry. This decision set the stage for the country to save Rs. 33 billion a year on imported fertiliser, he also said. Speaking to the media recently, Minister of Agriculture Mahindananda Aluthgamage said that the LPL, which was under Weerawansa’s ministry, has been gazetted under the Agriculture Ministry. “I see the reason for that is that LPL was under the Department of Agriculture in the past. The Government has launched a massive programme on behalf of the Agriculture Department and phosphate production is very valuable,” he said.


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