The National Salt Corporation in partnership with an industrial manufacturing consortium officially commissioned an automated crystallization and brine management upgrade across 350 acres of the historic Puttalam Salterns today, October 1, 2026.

Puttalam has long served as Sri Lanka's salt capital, producing the majority of the nation's edible and industrial salt. However, irregular rainfall patterns and unexpected unseasonal showers in recent years have repeatedly diluted open sun-drying pans, causing volatile swings in annual output. To build climate resilience, the newly unveiled engineering upgrade introduces automated hydrometric sensor gates, high-capacity seawater pumping stations, and laser-leveled crystallization beds lined with high-density geotextile membranes.

The automated control architecture continuously monitors Baumé brine density levels in real time. When sea brine reaches the optimum 25-degree Baumé saturation point, automated sluices swiftly transfer the saturated brine into specialized crystallization chambers equipped with automated rapid-deployment protective covers that shield pans from sudden rain events. Chemical engineers confirmed that this precision control accelerates crystallization by 30% while yielding pure, snow-white sodium chloride crystals exceeding 99.2% chemical purity.

Plant executives announced that the modernized saltern beds will increase annual salt production by over 45,000 metric tons, ensuring complete domestic self-sufficiency in edible iodized salt while meeting the high-purity chemical standards demanded by local pharmaceutical and chlor-alkali manufacturing industries. By replacing costly industrial salt imports, the facility will save Sri Lanka millions of dollars in foreign exchange annually.