Srilanka, Feb. 18 -- The government yesterday announced plans to establish an industrial estate dedicated to manufacturing automobile components and rubber products, in an effort to improve Sri Lanka's export competitiveness in the sectors.

For the initiative, spearheaded by the Industries Ministry, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake proposed an investment allocation of Rs.1.5 billion in Budget 2025.

"A significant level of investment in domestically value-added automobile manufacturing and rubber product manufacturing is crucial to meet the demand required by the components manufacturing industry," Dissanayake said in his budget speech.

Industrial experts have consistently identified automobile manufacturing as a key revenue sector f...