By Sarath Obeysekera

Sri Lanka’s marine industry has enormous potential. We have skilled boat builders, strategic harbours, a growing export market, and access to regional shipping routes. Yet time and again, valuable investments made with public funds are allowed to deteriorate due to poor management decisions, bureaucratic inertia, and a lack of commercial vision.
For several years I have written about the unfortunate fate of a state-of-the-art boat lift currently stranded in Trincomalee.
The lift, which operates using advanced air technology, was  built by Sri Lankan engineers in Sri Lanka to support the marine industry and provide an efficient method of lifting vessels for repair and maintenance. However, due to a legal dispute between the Ceylon Fishery Harbours Corporation and a shipyard over alleged non-payment of approximately Rs.6 million, the equipment has effectively been immobilized.
While the court case drags on, the boat lift remains exposed to the elements. Valuable equipment purchased at considerable expense is rusting away year after year. No meaningful effort appears to have been made to reach an amicable settlement, withdraw the action, or facilitate another investor taking over and operating the facility.
A similar story can be seen elsewhere.
At Modara Fishery Harbour, a modern hydraulic boat lift, once expected to serve the marine sector efficiently, has also become largely inactive and deteriorating. Again, valuable public assets are being wasted while the industry struggles for access to modern infrastructure.
Against this background, I was surprised to learn that the Ceylon Fishery Harbours Corporation has now been entrusted with operating the new boat launching facility at Beruwala, constructed at a cost exceeding Rs. 75 million under the Ministry of Industries.
The facility itself is a welcome investment. Sri Lanka needs such infrastructure if we are serious about developing the marine industry. However, infrastructure alone does not guarantee success.
Management determines success.
My concern is that we are about to repeat the mistakes of the past.
During discussions leading to the project, I suggested that the facility be entrusted to organizations with direct experience in marine engineering and commercial vessel operations, such as Ceynor or the Industrial Development Board, or alternatively managed through a public-private partnership capable of generating sustainable income.
Unfortunately, these suggestions were not adopted.
Instead, there is a real risk that the facility will become little more than a parking area for fishing vessels. Boats may be lifted and left ashore for extended periods, gradually turning valuable industrial land into an informal storage yard or even a marine junkyard.
If that happens, the original purpose of the investment will be lost.
The facility was intended to support boat construction, repairs, refits, exports, and the broader marine engineering sector. It should generate revenue, create employment, and support industrial growth. It should not become another underutilized government asset maintained at public expense.
Ceremonial openings attended by ministers make headlines for a day. Sustainable operation requires commercial planning, professional management, transparent pricing, proper maintenance, and accountability.
The tragedy is not the lack of investment. Sri Lanka has invested millions in marine infrastructure.
The tragedy is that we continue to place valuable assets under institutions that have not demonstrated the ability to maximize their commercial value.
Unless a professional operating model is introduced from the outset, the Beruwala boat launching facility may join the growing list of well-intentioned projects that ultimately become white elephants.
Sri Lanka’s marine industry deserves better.
The country needs fewer ceremonial openings and more commercially successful operations.
Otherwise, future generations will inherit little more than rusting equipment, abandoned facilities, and unanswered questions about how public money was spent.

Dr Sarath Obeysekera

Regards

Dr Sarath Obeysekera