Dr Sarath Obeysekera

https://www.srilankabusiness.com/ebooks/national-export-strategy-of-sri-lanka.pdf

Sri Lanka’s National Export Development Plan (NEDP) rightly focuses on transforming the country into a competitive logistics and export hub and prioritises marine-based industries and high-value manufacturing. However, the strategy does not adequately address one of Sri Lanka’s most significant untapped opportunities—the development of an offshore and heavy industrial hub in Trincomalee.

Trincomalee possesses one of the world’s finest natural deep-water harbours, vast land availability, and a strategic location at the crossroads of major Indian Ocean shipping routes. These attributes make it an ideal nucleus for developing offshore engineering, shipbuilding and repair, oil and gas support services, renewable energy fabrication, and other heavy industries.
Several advisory bodies and industry experts have previously recommended positioning Trincomalee as a regional offshore industrial centre capable of serving South Asia, the Middle East, and East Africa. Yet, the NEDP lacks a focused investment roadmap to attract global investors in these sectors.
Sri Lanka should actively market Trincomalee to major investors from India, Dubai, Singapore, and South Korea, all of whom possess extensive expertise and capital in offshore infrastructure and marine engineering. Establishing special industrial zones, streamlined approvals, public-private partnerships, and targeted fiscal incentives could transform Trincomalee into a major foreign direct investment (FDI) destination.

At a time when Sri Lanka seeks export diversification and higher-value industrial growth, developing Trincomalee as an offshore industrial hub is not merely an option—it is a strategic necessity. A dedicated offshore development strategy integrated into the NEDP could generate employment, technology transfer, export earnings, and position Sri Lanka as a leading maritime industrial centre in the Indian Ocean region.

Dr Sarath Obeysekera