Haohua Tire breaks ground on US$300 million tyre factory in Sri Lanka

Shandong Haohua Tire has broken ground on its previously-announced Sri Lanka tyre production base. Senior managers report that the US$300 million-dollar project’s workshop will be ready in mid-2022 and that the plant will go into production in late 2022.

The factory is being built in the south of Sri Lanka in the Hambantota Port Industrial Zone. The site covers a 490,000 square metre area and the land was provided by Hanfang Tuota International Port Group. That location has been selected for its close connections with the container terminal, oil and gas service area as well as the local business district.

2200 staff will be employed in the production of 1.8 million truck and bus radials as well as 7.2 million passenger car tyres a year in the first phase. Tyres produced at the site are being explicitly targeted at customers in “Europe, America and other anti-dumping countries”.

The Sri Lankan cabinet is supporting the construction of Haohua Tire’s factory with what local news sources described as “generous tax cuts” on the basis that the factory exports at least 80 per cent of its Sri Lankan-produced products. The tax support specifically includes a reported 10-year tax holiday provided for investments of more than US$10 million.

Shandong Haohua Tire’s tyre brands include Lanvigator, Aplus, Royal Black and Compasal.