The Colombo port city, its major issues and the road to successful implementation

Abstract

The Colombo Port City Project (CPCP) is regarded as one of the largest and most ambitious Sri Lankan development projects to date. At times classified as a Public-Private Partnership (PPP), the CPCP is a collaborative project between the Government of Sri Lanka and a foreign private entity. The project faced early setbacks and controversy due to several issues, including alleged mishandling of key processes. The aim of this paper is to make recommendations for the successful implementation of the CPCP through the development of a guideline inspired by previous studies on critical success factors for PPPs, supplemented by the results of an analysis of issues surrounding the CPCP. The methodology of the study relies on interviews with key informants, official documentation such as Environmental Impact Assessments, and the literature review. Review of the CPCP indicated that while current feasibility measures covered Economic and Environmental issues through means such as the Extended Cost Benefit Analysis etc., there appears to be inadequate analysis of Political, Social and Legal issues which played a major role in halting the CPCP. Findings highlight the importance of incorporating the analysis of Political, Social and Legal issues beyond what is currently practiced in feasibility studies. It also points towards the necessity of changing current practices, policies and processes relating to PPP or mega development projects in Sri Lanka.