Greater Colombo Economic Commission

The Greater Colombo Economic Commission was established in January, 1978, under the provisions of Greater Colombo Economic Commission Law No.4 of 1978
The Principal objectives of the Commission were as follows: -
(a) To Foster and Generate the Economic Development of tile Republic
(b) To Widen and Strengthen the base of the Economy of the Republic
(c) To encourage and promote foreign Investment within the Republic
(d) To Diversify the sources of Foreign carnings and to increase Export earnings
(e) To encourage and foster the establishment and development of lndustrial and Commercial Enterprises within the Republic
(f) To administer the affairs of an area of around 160 square miles to be referred to as its area of authority and to establish Investment Promotion Zones therein.

The Board of Directors of the Greater Colombo Economic Commission consists of five members appointed by H.E.The President in terms of section 6( I) of the GCEC Law and one of them is appointed the Director General of the Commission. The Director General functions as the Chief Executive. The establishment of the GCEC symbolished the new economic policies of the Government. The Economic Policies initiated by the government marked a sweeping departure from a tight controlled inward looking policy to a liberalised outward looking growth oriented one.
The main activity of the GCEC was the promotion of private foreign Investment into Sri Lanka
to generate employment opportunities for the unemployed youth and to diversify sources and increase foreign exchange earnings, The strategy of the Commission was to promote investment into the Investment Promotion Zone and in the pursuit of this objective the GCEC created its first Zone in all area of 400 acres north of the City of Colombo and immediately opposite the Colombo Airport. An attractive package of incentives were offered to Investors.
At the end of 1978, the Commission had approved fifty-three projects with a total capital investment of around Rs. 1,600 million and with possible job opportunities for about 27,000 persons. These fifty-three projects comprised Nineteen product types with a prepondrance on Industries (23) in tile Garment Sector of the fifty-three projects approved by the end of 1978, thirty enterprises had signed formal agreements with the commission and leased forty-seven acres in the first phase of the Katunayaka Investment Promotion Zone.

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