Sri Lanka’s first ever solar panel manufacturing plant, will commence operations in Katunayake by Japanese Sri Lanka Friendship (JSF) Corporation, a Board of Investment Company that aims to manufacture solar panels, assemble inverters, and provide LED lighting solutions to serve domestic and international markets across Europe, Asia, US and the Middle East. According to officials, the company will invest Rs. 5 Billion in Sri Lanka through this initiative, and will provide employment to over 200 personnel, with a 200MW annual output capability. JSF will commence operations at the Katunayake Export and Processing Zone on 21 July, under the auspices of Power and Renewable Energy Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya, Japanese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Kenichi Suganuma, and State Minister Ajith Perera.

Japanese company will employ its state-of-the-art technology and service solutions in Sri Lanka, whilst production will commence under the supervision and guidance of renowned Japanese technicians. The company offers a 35-year generation warranty on all of its’ solar panels under the brand name SAKURA SOLAR, and will serve domestic and corporate clientele all across the country, offering significant cost and service benefits.

JSF Corporation is the only 100% Japanese investment in the renewable energy industry in Sri Lanka, and the only BOI-approved company with a 55-year agreement in the renewable energy industry. The company and the investment are the brainchild of Pushpasiri Liyanage, who convinced his fellow directors at JSF to invest in Sri Lanka, who earlier considered to take the operation to Vietnam, Cambodia or Bangladesh. Through its investment, JSF brings in valuable foreign investment and technology to Sri Lanka in addition to exchange savings, and will serve as a significant source of support to the Government’s ‘Soorya Bala Sangramaya’ program under the Ministry of Power and Renewable Energy, which aims to harness solar power to add 200MW of solar power to the national grid by 2020. The Directors of JSF Corporation include, Masaaki Shibata, Hirokazu Murata, Yasuaki Horiuchi, Yoshinori Kagomoto, Masahiro Sunahata and Shintaro Fukuzono, all stalwarts of Japanese enterprise and the renewable energy sector in the country, leading numerous large scale solar projects in Japan and other regions.

- Reporting by Devendra Francis