Cabinet approval has been granted for the appointment of a committee to study the facts and submit a report with recommendations on the possibility and appropriateness of exporting up to one million metric tons of granite.
The government said at present, the requirement of Granite for construction and development activities in the country is relatively low and the livelihoods of the miners engaged in the granite mining industry and the communities associated with it have been severely affected due to this.
The livelihoods of the miners engaged in the granite mining industry and the communities associated with it have been severely affected due to this, it said.
The government further said that a stock of granite removed during the construction of Hambantota Magampura port is currently piled near the administrative building of the port area and in the Hambantota new hospital premises and the said granite stock needs to be removed immediately.
Taking into account a proposal presented by the Minister of Environment, the Cabinet of Ministers approved to take necessary steps for the immediate export of the said granite stocks under the supervision of the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau.
The Cabinet also decided to appoint a committee to study the facts and submit a report with recommendations on the possibility and appropriateness of exporting up to one million metric tons of granite. (NewsWire)