Kamanthi Wickramasinghe & Prageeth Sampath Premathilake, 14 August 2021 … reprinted in Daily Mirror, June 2023 “Bittersweet memories of a ‘City that never slept’,”
29 Jun 2023
Defunct vehicles and unserviceable mahinery – Pix by Samantha Perera
Reviving the Kantale Sugar Factory
The Kantale Sugar Factory was a Czechoslovakian Government aid grant commissioned during Sirimavo Bandaranaike’s tenure
However, privatisation adversely affected its operations. Inefficient management and issues reported by workers, eventually led to its closure
Critics point out that the state belives it can gain more profits when sugar is imported instead of producing it in Sri Lanka
In 2018 alone, this factory was brought under the purview of four different ministries
Around 1700 permanent employees and around 5000 non-permanent employees were working at the factory prior to its closure
When the Kantale Sugar Factory was closed it had an annual production capacity of 16,320 tonnes of sugar
A 2020 Audit Report states that the factory didn’t function as expected even though it was transferred to Lanka Agencies (Pvt) Ltd
At the heart of Eastern Province lies a now abandoned ghost town punctuated with towering structures, uninhabited housing, dilapidated buildings, unserviceable machinery and acres of deserted land. 28 years ago, this place, the Sugar Factory premises at Kantale, was a hive of activity. Initially constructed on a 44,000 acre expanse of land the Kantale Sugar Factory was a Czechoslovakian Government aid grant commissioned during Sirimavo Bandaranaike’s tenure. Apart from the factory, the land was utilised to build a housing scheme, shopping complex, a club, football and volleyball courts, a dispensary, bakery and various other facilities to be enjoyed by its employees. The factory brought an era of prosperity to people in its surroundings who still recall memories of a glorious past. The once prosperous Kantale Sugar Factory therefore suffered closure by the end of 1999 after it was handed over to a private party in 1993. At present the land area has diminished to 21,300 acres and the authorities are still struggling to put the operations back on track.
