According to local media in Colombo, the ambitious plan to establish South Asia’s largest commercial and logistics complex within the Port of Colombo has been officially cancelled, marking a significant reversal in one of Sri Lanka’s most high-profile infrastructure investment proposals. The Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) is now preparing to initiate a fresh Request for Proposal process for the valuable port-adjacent land, which will also be bundled with other plots owned by the authority for broader investment interest.
Board of Investment Director General Renuka M. Weerakone confirmed that the previously proposed project involving China Merchants Port Holdings would not proceed as originally planned. She noted that the SLPA would soon open the land for competitive bidding, allowing interested investors to submit new proposals once the formal RFP process is launched.
SLPA Chairman Parakrama Dissanayake also confirmed the cancellation of the earlier awarded arrangement, stating that the authority is currently reassessing the best approach for moving forward with a new round of proposals. The decision effectively resets the development pathway for one of the most strategically located land parcels within the Colombo Port.
The original project, first announced in 2023, envisioned the development of a large-scale logistics hub under a public-private partnership model. China Merchants Port Holdings was expected to hold a 70 percent stake, while the Sri Lanka Ports Authority and Access Engineering PLC were each to hold 15 percent stakes, operating under a Build-Operate-Transfer arrangement with a 50-year lease period.
However, the project reportedly stalled following policy changes linked to Sri Lanka’s commitments under the International Monetary Fund programme after the 2022 economic crisis, including the withdrawal of strategic development concessions. Earlier discussions had also explored restructuring the investment through alternative concessionary mechanisms via the Board of Investment, but the plan ultimately failed to progress, leading to its cancellation and the renewed call for proposals.
