Investment by a major port operator would help improve Colombo port's competitive position as its existing water depth was not enough to handle bigger ships and its capacity was near saturation, he added.
"If Sri Lanka wants to keep its competitive position, well-equipped container terminals and modern procedures are badly needed." Hu Jianhua, managing director of CMHI, said the Chinese port operator was drawn to the island because of its "strategic advantages" like location, access to south Asia, open economy and literate labour force.
China Merchants is investing 500 million US dollars to build and operate a container terminal that will have a capacity of 2.4 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent container units).
China Merchants intends to use its investment to modernise the port and improve its competitiveness