The Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Aviation issued an expression of interest (EOI) for investment in the Galle Port Development Project, and five of the seven foreign companies have met the requirements. According to Capt. Nirmal Silva, harbor master for the Sri Lanka Ports Authority, this aims to build infrastructure facilities associated with the Galle Port Development Project and leisure-related infrastructure amenities. The construction of the breakwater, wharf, revetment, seawall, channel dredging, land reclamation, related maritime infrastructure, and future mixed development will be done on a finance, build, operate, and transfer basis. According to him, they have currently chosen to extend the EOI by one more week.
In response to a question on how Galle could grow as a tourism destination given the limitations imposed by UNESCO due to its designation as a world historic city, he stated that approval had now been secured in this area. Speaking about the Trincomalee Port, he stated that its primary focus will be on green hydrogen operations, which are the shipping industry’s future source of revenue.
Trincomalee Harbor has an estimated investment potential and is rated as the fifth-best natural harbor in the world. According to him, we want to take advantage of this and are searching for investors. According to him, the KKS harbor is primarily being constructed for passenger operations.
According to Capt. Silva, a feasibility study for a new harbor project that will be implemented in two phases north of Trincomalee harbor has been finished. “We will soon be requesting proposals for this, and it will be implemented as a private-public partnership with a 20:30 ratio.”
