During October 2009 a visit was undertaken by BizPAct staff to the Mannar district.
There are no approved BizPAct projects from this district, as yet.
In the meantime, we thought you might be interested to hear about some of the opportunities that are being put forward by the entrepreneurs and the Chamber of Commerce in this district.
These are some of the more commercially oriented ideas from entrepreneurs in Mannar. There were a number of other ideas that are more Corporate Social Responsibility Projects. For example, the Chamber suggested developing a 6 month Tamil and Sinhala course which would be free to members of the armed forces and selected members of the public. This would help to ease some of the communication problems that sometimes arise when there is no common language. Such a course could be run for under Rs1million per year.
Rice Mill Project
There is an existing Rice Mill in Mannar owned by the Seed Producers Association of Mannar. The project is to repair and modernize the rice mill to facilitate the milling of paddy produced in Mannar. Due to the war, the rice mill was displaced from its original location. As a result, the rice mill was abandoned for a while and the machinery has become rusted and damaged.
When the mill is operational, it produces standard seed paddy. Also, it will mill paddy produced to be sold as rice to consumers.
Premises exist but repair work needs to be done.
Initial estimates are that an investment of about Rs5million is needed to deliver a sustainable commercial operation.
Fibre Glass Boat repair shop
There is a proposal to establish an Outboard Motor(OBMM) & fiber glass boat repair workshop with a spare parts outlet. This proposal is being put forward by the Chamber of Commerce in Mannar.
Mannar District has approximately 160 miles of coast where around 9000 families are involved in fishing. Nearly 3000 boats are engaged in fishing and it is estimated that around 300 OBMM need some sort of repairing daily.
There are no organized or qualified technical units to conduct the repairs in Mannar.
There aren’t any governmental agencies or private enterprises selling spare parts and, for the most part, individual fishermen have to go out of the district to buy the parts they might need.
In this proposal, marine engineers attached to the Fisheries Department in Mannar will select skilled and qualified mechanics for the repair shop and also supervise the work.
There is land earmarked by the Government for this project.
The chamber has approached another International aid organization to help put up the building.
As additional investment in people and equipment of about Rs5million is needed get this project off the ground. The chamber needs the guarantee of the required investment amount before the government and the international organization will implement their portion of the project.
The building will house the repair shop and a spare parts outlet in the ground floor and the Chamber on the 1st floor. In this way, a commercially focused project can also help to build the capacity of the local chamber to better enhance the economy of the district.
Salt Business expansion
This is an expansion project for an existing business for the production of iodised household salt.
Funds are required to employ an additional worker and to purchase new machinery and a vehicle. An investment in the region of Rs5million is needed.
Operations involve grinding salt, mixing iodine and repacking to accommodate different sizes required in the market.
The proposer has land earmarked for this project.
There is a large demand for his product in the market. His customer base is assured because he is the only businessman in the salt industry in the area that provides a door to door service.
He also conducts awareness programs in the villages regarding the importance of using iodized salt. While being a community service, these programs also contributes towards increasing the demand for his brand. He also conducts vocational training workshops in these villages for the unemployed and youth.
The proposer originates from the east. The tsunami had destroyed his business and home. He came to Mannar with only Rs 10,000/=. He started his business by delivering up to 8 packets of iodized salt a day on a push cycle. He now hires a truck to make the deliveries – and the purchase of a vehicle would enable costs to be reduced whilst giving more flexibility about deliveries..
Ready-made Garment Business
The idea behind this project is to provide machines to females who have already been given some sort of training by the government, to produce readymade garments and school uniforms. To get this up and running will require an investment of about Rs1million.
There is a heavy demand for readymade garments that are brought into Mannar during the festival seasons and for the weekend fairs. Also, there is no proper institution or enterprise that deals in supplying school uniforms to the district.
The chamber will help the participants of the project to sell directly to consumers and take a commission. Another option would be for the chamber to buy the end product from the participants and to sell the items themselves.
Concrete Manufacturing Plant
This project is to establish a manufacturing plant for concrete items.
Currently, Sandcrete blocks, RCC pipes, concrete, concrete posts and pillars needed by the government departments for construction and reconstruction work are being transported from distance places like Madawachiya and Anuradhapura, incurring a very high transport cost.
The same situation is faced by the civilian population of Mannar.
There is an opportunity to develop a concrete manufacturing plant to satisfy the local market needs – at a price that will have a competitive advantage over items that are transported in.
The entrepreneur estimates that an investment in the region of Rs11million will be needed for this project.
Ice Factory
Another project is to repair an existing ice plant to increase the production of ice to meet the demands of the fishermen of Mannar
The newer plant that is currently operational produces around 300 Cwts daily.
There is such a high demand that there isn’t enough to stockpile even in small quantities.
During the season, there in not enough ice and the local fishermen have to bear the loss.
With the end of the war and the lifting of restrictions, the demand is going to be even higher than in the last few seasons.
The season is from October to April
The proposer only delivers the ice to the fishermen, he also collects the fish packed in ice and provides transport to take these crates to Colombo. Without this service the local fishermen would be forced to sell within the local market and to then put the surplus for salting. This would be at a much lower price than they would be able to earn by sending their fish to Colombo.
He delivers the fish to different merchants chosen by individual fishermen and then collects the cash at the end of the day and banks it for the fishermen. These services are highly valued by the local fishermen.
Though there are some other ice plants in Mannar, the local fishermen only go to them once his stocks have been depleted because of the services he offers. His ice is also considered to be of better quality because of the weight. He is known to have ice blocks that are fully formed.
Salt Production Facility
The Chamber of Commerce want to promote a project for the conversion of unutilized naturally produced salt into consumable salt products to meet the demand of the district and the country
There is a stretch of shallow lagoon along the 7th mile post on the Mannar – Talaimannar road, which dries fully during the south western monsoon.
The stagnated water evaporates and salt is produced naturally.
This salt is not used as it needs refining and goes to waste.
The project is targeting the dry fish market as their main buyer.
An initial estimate is that it will take an Rs11million investment to develop this into a sustainable business.
