Sarath Obeysekera Chairman Advisory Board Marine and Offshore industry development

Duminda Hulangamuwa ‘s extensive experience in finance, taxation, corporate governance, and economic policy, together with his close involvement in national economic reforms, gives renewed hope that the BOI can once again become the country’s premier investment promotion agency.

His stated intention to restore the BOI’s authority and transform it into a genuine one-stop shop” for investors is particularly encouraging. For many years, foreign investors have faced delays, fragmented decision-making, and overlapping responsibilities among multiple government institutions. These bottlenecks have discouraged investment and weakened Sri Lanka’s competitiveness against regional rivals.
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is not merely a source of capital. Quality FDI introduces new technologies, management expertise, international marketing networks, employment opportunities, export earnings, and foreign exchange inflows. It strengthens the country’s reserves while stimulating industrial development and improving productivity.

Unfortunately, during the past decade, Sri Lanka’s investment promotion landscape has become fragmented. Several sectors with enormous investment potential—including offshore and marine industries, the blue economy, shipbuilding, ship repair, offshore engineering, fisheries infrastructure, and marine services—have largely been handled by the Export Development Board (EDB) through sectoral advisory committees.
The EDB deserves recognition for initiating numerous studies, preparing policy documents recommendations, and developing conceptual proposals with the participation of both public and private sector experts.

These advisory committees consist of experienced industry professionals who have voluntarily contributed valuable knowledge and practical recommendations

However, many of these carefully prepared reports have remained on shelves without implementation.
One notable example is the work undertaken on the development of Trincomalee as a regional offshore industrial hub. Comprehensive concept papers and feasibility proposals highlighting opportunities in offshore engineering, floating production facilities, shipbuilding, marine logistics, oil and gas support services, and associated export industries were submitted through the EDB to the relevant ministerial committees.

Unfortunately, these proposals did not receive the level of attention they deserved. In many cases, the long-term strategic benefits were overshadowed by immediate administrative priorities or insufficient technical understanding among decision-makers.

Sri Lanka cannot afford such missed opportunities any longer.

The restructuring of the BOI provides an ideal opportunity to revisit many of these proposals.
Unlike in the past, the BOI now enjoys closer policy coordination with the highest levels of Government. With the Chairman also serving as Senior Economic Adviser to the President, there is an opportunity to bridge the gap between policy formulation and implementation.

This should not be viewed as replacing the valuable work carried out by the EDB. Rather, it presents an opportunity for stronger collaboration. The EDB possesses extensive sectoral knowledge and has already invested considerable effort in developing investment-ready concepts. The BOI can now become the institution that converts these concepts into bankable investment projects and successfully markets them to international investors.
The offshore and marine sector illustrates this opportunity perfectly.
Sri Lanka occupies one of the world’s most strategic maritime locations along major international shipping routes. Yet the country has barely begun to exploit opportunities in offshore vessel maintenance, floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) conversions, offshore renewable energy support, marine engineering, underwater services, ocean technology, and blue economy investments. These are industries capable of generating billions of dollars in export earnings while creating highly skilled employment.
Similarly, the development potential of Trincomalee extends far beyond port activities. With its natural deep-water harbour, available land, strategic location, and existing oil tank farm, Trincomalee could evolve into an integrated industrial, logistics, energy, and offshore engineering hub serving South Asia and the wider Indian Ocean region.
What is now required is institutional coordination rather than institutional competition.
The BOI, EDB, line ministries, provincial authorities, and industry advisory committees must work together under a unified national investment strategy. Projects that have already undergone technical evaluation should be revisited, updated where necessary, and presented to investors with the full backing of Government.
If the new BOI leadership succeeds in restoring investor confidence while harnessing the wealth of technical work already completed by agencies such as the EDB, Sri Lanka can significantly improve its FDI performance, diversify exports, strengthen foreign exchange reserves, and create sustainable employment.
Mr. Hulangamuwa’s appointment therefore represents more than a change of leadership. It offers an opportunity to reconnect sound policy with practical implementation.
The challenge now is to ensure that well-prepared proposals no longer remain in filing cabinets but become investments on the ground that contribute meaningfully to Sri Lanka’s long-term economic transformation.
Sarath Obeysekera 

Chairman 

Advisory Board Marine and Offshore industry development