{"id":155619,"date":"2026-04-09T16:37:41","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T23:37:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=155619"},"modified":"2026-04-09T16:37:41","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T23:37:41","slug":"this-may-be-my-last-effort-to-convince-the-government-to-rethink-about-trinco-development","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2026\/04\/09\/this-may-be-my-last-effort-to-convince-the-government-to-rethink-about-trinco-development\/","title":{"rendered":"This may be my last effort to convince the government to rethink about Trinco development\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dr Sarath Obeysekera<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

1. Trincomalee = High-Potential but Underutilized Asset as it is <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the best natural harbours in the world Close to major East\u2013West shipping route with Large available land + deep water + shelter hence This combination is extremely rare globally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Most Viable Immediate Investment: Ship Repair Yard<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report is very clear:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Strong regional demand<\/p>\n\n\n\n

50 ships\/year initially<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recent agreement between Colombo Dockyard and Indian Dredging Corporation  to service their fleet is stepping stone by using Trinco for the purpose <\/p>\n\n\n\n

USD 20 million revenue in year 1<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Positive NPV (up to USD 135 million)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conclusion:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the anchor project\u2014everything else should be built around it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Ship Layup = Opportunistic, NOT Core Business<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Works only during global downturns and recent anc new opportunities risen due to war between US and Iran  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Demand is now predictable <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Financial viability now positive in realistic scenarios<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Strategic interpretation:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 SLPA should initiate projects to  build dedicated infrastructure first by deploying more buoys and a dedicated berth <\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Offshore Oil & Gas Link is Critical<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Strong insight from report:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Indian Ocean oil & gas activity (India, Middle East)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Offshore vessels need:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Repair<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Maintenance<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Hot and cold Layup <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is your real market, not just shipping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Supporting Industries Identified<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report smartly includes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Yacht manufacturing (Sampoor)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Small craft repair (Mud Cove)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 LNG \/ FSRU potential<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Marina & cruise tourism (long-term)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This creates a maritime industrial ecosystem<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Strategic Gaps <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. No Strong PPP \/ Investment Model<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report mentions PPP but does not structure it clearly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is proposed  to establish a <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 JV with Indian \/ Japanese \/ Middle East players<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Revenue-sharing + land lease model<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 BOOT (Build-Own-Operate-Transfer)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Position Trincomalee as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 India\u2013Sri Lanka joint maritime hub<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Alternative to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Singapore<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Dubai<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Indian east coast congestion<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is a Reality:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri Lanka must:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Offer discount tariffs<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Build strategic alliances with shipping lines<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Partner with offshore operators<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Institutional Weakness are addressed <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But not:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bureaucracy<\/p>\n\n\n\n

delays in approval <\/p>\n\n\n\n

corruption risk<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a critical bottleneck<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Core Pillars:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Ship Repair Mega Yard (Anchor Project)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Large dry dock<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Offshore vessel specialization<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Target: Indian + Middle East market<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Offshore Support Base<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 For oil & gas vessels<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Collaboration with Indian oil<\/p>\n\n\n\n

exploration sector<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Strategic Layup Zone (Flexible Model)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 No heavy upfront investment<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Activated during downturn cycles<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Energy Hub<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 LNG (FSRU)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Oil storage (tie with IOC presence)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Industrial & Logistics Zone<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Marine engineering<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Fabrication yards<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Equipment supply chain<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Policy Recommendations (High Impact)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Create Trincomalee Special Maritime Zone\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Tax holidays<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Duty-free imports<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Fast-track approvals<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Joint Development with India<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Very important politically:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Indian oil & gas companies<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Ship repair collaboration<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regards

Dr Sarath Obeysekera<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dr Sarath Obeysekera 1. Trincomalee = High-Potential but Underutilized Asset as it is  One of the best natural harbours in the world Close to major East\u2013West shipping route with Large available land + deep water + shelter hence This combination is extremely rare globally. 2. Most Viable Immediate Investment: Ship Repair Yard The report is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[116],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-155619","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dr-sarath-obeysekera"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155619","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=155619"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155619\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":155620,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155619\/revisions\/155620"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=155619"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=155619"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=155619"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}