Sri Lanka former war zone gets apparel factory

Wed, 22 May 2013 12:04:12

05 Aug, 2011 15:49:28

Aug 05, 2011 (LBO) - Calzedonia Finanziaria of Luxembourg has started building an apparel factory in Sri Lanka's northern Vavuniya expected to start in October 2011 that will employ 1,500 people when it reaches full capacity.

The garment manufacturing factory in Vinayagapuram, Vavuniya, an area affected b y the 30-year ethnic war that ended in 2009, was set up with initial investment of 20 million US dollars, the Minister of Industry and Commerce said in a statement.

It is operated by Omega Line, which is 100 percent owned by Calzedonia Finanziaria of Luxembourg, and exports to Europe under the brand names of 'Intimissimi' and 'Tezenis' and beachwear and swimwear under the brand name of 'Calzedonia'.

Calzedonia’s Sri Lanka operations have an annual export value of over 300 million US dollars to Italy alone, the ministry statement said.

It now employs over 3,000 people to manufacture lingerie and has made total investments of about 45 million dollars on two factories with a total area of 265,000 square feet on an extent of over 25 acres.

Correction: Factory has started building factory