The Board of Investment has set dates for two new Export Processing Zones in the Northern Province, at Paranthan and Kankesanthurai, Hiru News reported.
Following a visit to the region by BOI Chairman Duminda Hulangamuwa and Director General Dr. Sulakshana Jayawardena, the agency said land reservations at the Paranthan zone will open to investors by the end of November 2026. Internal infrastructure work at both Paranthan and Kankesanthurai is scheduled to begin by early January 2027, placing the two sites on the same timeline.
An investment promotion and familiarisation tour for major investors is also planned for November.
What investors told the delegation
Current and prospective investors raised a set of obstacles with the visiting officials: inconsistent land valuations, delays in obtaining clearances, and the difficulty of dealing with multiple government departments separately.
The BOI’s response was procedural. It proposed a Single-Point Coordination Mechanism to pursue outstanding clearances and follow up on administrative delays until they are resolved.
In briefings with Northern Province Governor Nagalingam Vethanayahan, the delegation asked for provincial support to establish a dedicated Single-Point Investor Facilitation Centre to serve as a single channel for institutional approvals.
Hulangamuwa also proposed a Regional Manpower Information Database recording worker availability, qualifications and skills across the province, so that prospective employers can assess the local labour supply before committing.
Beyond manufacturing
The delegation also inspected sea cucumber and seaweed cultivation sites at Ariyalai, Jaffna. The BOI said it intends to develop these coastal operations into larger export-oriented ventures.
Context and caution on earlier announcements
Export zones at Paranthan and Kankesanthurai have been announced before, and reports of earlier phases — including a 2024 report that Northern Province zones had begun operations and a 2025 announcement of seven decentralised investment zones — remain in circulation and rank highly in searches. Those are separate, earlier filings. What is new here is the timetable: a November 2026 date for land reservations at Paranthan and a January 2027 start for infrastructure at both sites.
Not reported
The report does not give the size of either zone in acres, the industries each is intended for, the capital cost of the infrastructure work, or who will fund it. It does not name any committed investor, state how many have reserved land or expressed interest, or give an employment projection.
No timetable is given for the proposed facilitation centre, the coordination mechanism or the manpower database, and no provincial official is quoted responding to the requests made of them.
This story was carried by Hiru News and by the aggregator Newswire. No other verified newsroom had filed on it at the time of writing, and searches for corroboration returned only earlier editions of Northern Province zone announcements rather than this one.
Source: Hiru News.
