Colombo, (IANS) : Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena has laid the foundation stone for a vehicle assembly park named “Western Vehicle Assembly Plant”, a media report said on Wednesday.

The plant will be set up in Kuliyapitiya in the north western part of the country, Xinhua news agency reported.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe who addressed the gathering on the occasion said the plant would create as many as 2,000 direct employment opportunities for youth.

Initially, the vehicles to be assembled will be released in the local market by 2020 and will be exported by 2023.