The Government plans to convert Trincomalee Port to a mega industrial port city that will house ship repairs and shipbuilding, a petroleum refinery, fertilizer manufacturing, steel and mineral sand industries and biomass storage facilities.
Tenders will be floated soon for this purpose while the economically beleaguered nation will put up a couple of thousand hectares of land on lease to set up industries in a special economic zone.
It will realize the associated development of the strategically located port, stirring up geopolitical interest in that part of the Indian Ocean.
There is an extent of 2,000 acres of land available for the development of these mega industries and the government intends to make Trincomalee a hub for top-heavy industries, top official sources said. .
“This will be a Public Private Partnership Project (PPP ) and the total investment would be around US$ 175 million.”
The Master Plan prepared by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority has focused on having maximum industries in the Trincomalee Port so that the provision of Port services could enable the port to run at a profit.
The Trincomalee Port Development plan is prepared considering the national and international requirement as a hub port in the Bay of Bengal rim region which has a great future with the rapid expansion of economies of Bangladesh, East Coast of India, Myanmar and Sri Lanka.
A US company has expressed interest in developing a Trincomalee Harbour site and its precincts by setting up a mega oil refinery at an investment of US$ 3 billion, an Energy Ministry’s special memorandum has revealed.
The company, whose name is not revealed in the cabinet memorandum, has submitted an unsolicited proposal to develop the site near the port along with land area, 10 times greater than the Colombo Harbour,
According to the document, the Sri Lanka Port Development Authority’s National Port Development Plan has identified Tricomalee Port as a strategic harbour to cater for bulk cargo, and port related activities including heavy industries, tourism and agriculture.
Under this plan an oil refinery project will be implemented on a long term Build, Operate and Transfer Basis (BOT).
According to the Ministry memorandum, the oil refinery and an investment promotion zone with industrial park will be established in a 33000 acre land near this port.
The next stage of development will involve a call for proposals from potential investors for the Free trade Zone Industrial Park and Tourism Zone.
Port of Trincomalee shall be developed to play a major role in this unique economic region considering its locational advantage, deep water port facilities, large hinterland for establishing industries and accompanied with quick land connection to Port of Colombo, with the expansion of expressway network.
Prasantha Jayamanna, chairman of Sri Lanka Ports Authority said The proposal to develop an industrial harbour in Trincomalee is a long-standing plan to monetise land that belongs to the Sri Lanka Port Authority, by getting foreign and local investment for a special economic zone, an industrial park, or an energy hub.
This would also entail the development of the port for non-containerised cargo traffic, such as cement, coal or other industrial raw material.
Jayamanna had made similar remarks in January this year. It is unclear when SLPA will act on its intentions. India, which has already made a substantial investment in Trincomalee, is likely to be interested in the proposal both as a commercial project and as a strategic investment, a source in Sri Lanka said.
Earlier this year, Lanka Indian Oil Company, a subsidiary of Indian Oil Company, and Ceylon Petroleum Corporation signed an agreement to develop a massive oil storage tank farm built during British rule at Trincomalee.
The oil storage facility is located at the harbour and has its own jetty. The two entities have formed a special purpose joint venture called Trinco Petroleum Terminals Ltd for the development of 85 tanks — all in decrepit condition.
