Minister of Traditional Industries and Small Enterprise Development Douglas Devananda has submitted the proposal to the Cabinet to revive the abandoned saltern.

The Elephant Pass saltern, situated in the Jaffna peninsula, was one of the primary salt manufacturers of Sri Lanka in the past. It produced 70 to 80 thousand metric tons of salt annually. However, it was abandoned for many years due to terrorist activities in the North.

The resumption of productions at the saltern will generate employment opportunities in the Northern Province and save the government a huge sum of foreign exchange since.

Nearly 60% of the current annual salt requirement of the country is produced locally and the remaining 40% is imported at a cost of nearly Rs.380 million.