{"id":155825,"date":"2026-04-22T16:23:15","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T23:23:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=155825"},"modified":"2026-04-22T16:23:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T23:23:15","slug":"sunk-costs-and-lost-vision-rethinking-sri-lankas-megaproject-strategy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2026\/04\/22\/sunk-costs-and-lost-vision-rethinking-sri-lankas-megaproject-strategy\/","title":{"rendered":"Sunk Costs and Lost Vision: Rethinking Sri Lanka\u2019s Megaproject Strategy\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dr Sarath Obeysekera<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n
    \n
  • Sunk Costs and Lost Vision: Rethinking Sri Lanka\u2019s Megaproject Strategy\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • When Infrastructure Outruns Strategy: Lessons from Port City and Hambantota<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    1. Stop thinking like a builder \u2014 start thinking like a dealmaker<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Sri Lanka\u2019s mistake has been engineering-led development without parallel commercial strategy. What\u2019s missing is aggressive anchor investor targeting<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    • For Port City: attract regional HQs, fintech firms, family offices, arbitration centers<\/strong>. Compete with Dubai and Singapore\u2014not Galle Face restaurants.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Offer time-bound, non-bureaucratic<\/em> incentives (fast-track visas, tax certainty, dollar accounts).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      Without 5\u201310 global anchor tenants, the skyline will remain empty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      2. Re-negotiate utilization\u2014not ownership<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      The narrative that Sri Lanka lost\u201d Hambantota Port is politically attractive but economically shallow. The real issue is underutilization<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n
      • Position Hambantota as a specialized industrial-port hub<\/strong>:\n
          \n
        • Vehicle transshipment (already some success)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • LNG \/ energy hub<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Ship repair & bunkering (competing with Fujairah)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Push for revenue-sharing upgrades<\/strong> tied to throughput, not fixed lease optics.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

          If ships don\u2019t come, ownership debates are meaningless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          3. Link both projects into a single economic corridor<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

          Right now, they operate as isolated assets. That\u2019s a strategic error.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \n
          • Create a Colombo\u2013Hambantota logistics & industrial corridor<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • High-speed freight, bonded zones, and unified customs<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Port City = finance & services<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Hambantota = industry & logistics<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

            This is how China itself scaled its coastal zones\u2014integration, not fragmentation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            4. Bring in third-country players (balance the China factor)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

            Overdependence creates both political and commercial hesitation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              \n
            • Invite India, Japan, Middle East funds into specific verticals<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • Example:\n
                \n
              • India \u2192 energy, logistics<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              • Japan \u2192 industrial zones<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              • Gulf \u2192 real estate, finance<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                This reduces geopolitical risk perception, which is currently scaring off Western investors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                5. Radical regulatory clarity (this is the real bottleneck)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

                Investors are not avoiding Sri Lanka because of lack of land\u2014they avoid policy unpredictability<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                For Colombo Port City:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  \n
                • Guarantee independent commercial law framework<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
                • No retrospective tax changes<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                • Full capital repatriation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                  Without this, even free land won\u2019t attract serious capital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  6. Monetize what already exists (quick wins)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

                  Instead of waiting for mega investors:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                    \n
                  • Turn idle land into temporary revenue generators<\/strong>\n
                      \n
                    • Events, exhibitions, F1-style circuits, cruise tourism<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                    • Aggressively market as a regional MICE hub<\/strong> (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Exhibitions)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                      Cash flow\u2014even small\u2014is better than prestige emptiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      7. Professionalize project governance<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

                      These projects cannot be run like ministries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                        \n
                      • Independent, performance-based boards<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                      • Global talent in management<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                      • KPIs tied to occupancy, throughput, and revenue\u2014not ribbon-cutting<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                        Hard truth<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

                        Sri Lanka\u2019s issue is not that China built these projects. It\u2019s that Sri Lanka did not build the ecosystem around them<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                        Infrastructure without policy, marketing, and investor confidence is like building a harbor with no ships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                        Regards

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

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

                        Dr Sarath Obeysekera 1. Stop thinking like a builder \u2014 start thinking like a dealmaker Sri Lanka\u2019s mistake has been engineering-led development without parallel commercial strategy. What\u2019s missing is aggressive anchor investor targeting. Without 5\u201310 global anchor tenants, the skyline will remain empty. 2. Re-negotiate utilization\u2014not ownership The narrative that Sri Lanka lost\u201d Hambantota Port […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[116],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-155825","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\/155825","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=155825"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155825\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":155826,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155825\/revisions\/155826"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=155825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=155825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=155825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}