ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s state-owned National Salt Limited is in the process of doubling its production capacity by boosting the land area of Northern Saltern in Elephant Pass via a Public Private Partnership (PPP) project, a top official said.
The move comes after sudden scarcity in the local salt production forced the government to import salt and the public had to pay a higher price.
National Salt Limited (NSL) has its major production facilities at Mannar and Elephant Pass in the Northern Province at present
In terms of production, the Mannar saltern produces about 5,500 metric tons (MT) of raw salt annually, while the Elephant Pass saltern currently produces around 17,000 MT per annum, with plans in place to increase Elephant Pass to 22,000 MT/year in 2025.
“We are planning another 1,000 acre of saltern in Elephant Pass in addition to the existing 1,000 acres. We have planned it with public-private-partnership. If that saltern comes, we should be able to produce another 30,000 MT of salt annually,” M J T Manzil, the General Manager of National Salt Limited, told EconomyNext.
He also said the firm will supply the salt to consumers at a reasonable price through a “modern market chain” from next month.
The company has earned record 597 million rupees revenue and 303 million profit before tax in the 2024/25 financial year, he said.
“Now we have targeted 700 million rupee as revenue in the year ending in March 2026. We are confident of achieving this,” Manzil told a media briefing on Monday in Colombo.
He said the NSL has earned 251 million as revenue in the current financial year so far including a net profit of 140 million while 100 million rupees has been given to the Treasury as dividends. (Colombo/October 13/2025)