H’tota Port second RFP attracts US$ one billion

The second investment round of the Request for Proposals(RFP) of the Hambantota port has attracted a billion US dollars of investments from eleven manufacturing and processing for export industries and the Sri Lanka Ports Authority was awaiting the Cabinet approval to finalize the proposed deals.

The first investment round of Hambantota Port drew massive investments to the tune of over US $ 800 million with firms ranging from sugar refining, warehousing, petrochemicals, cement manufacturing and plastics. Measures have been taken to set up an industrial zone with facilities for tourism including whale watching within the land owned by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority under the development programme of the port of Trincomalee. SLPA also anticipates to draw massive investments by both local and foreign investors to the industrial zone in the Trincomalee Port.

Sri Lanka Ports Authority Chairman Priyath B Wickrama recently disclosed that Sri Lanka Ports Authority would contribute US $ 10 billion for the National Investment Strategy as the Government had planned to attract approximately 3% -4% of the country’s GDP annually as Foreign Direct Investments.

Dr Wickrama said that Sri Lanka’s close proximity to the Indian subcontinent would give Sri Lanka a distinct advantage to exploit our strong maritime heritage and global logistics demand and we were well aware of the potentiality of developing Sri Lanka with the maritime sector development in the world as well as in the region.

(IH)