Port City SEZ: A Catalyst for Modern Services in Sri Lanka

Abstract

This LKI report explores Sri Lanka’s position as a modern services hub, global and local scenarios that might shape the evolution of Port City and insights from advanced, services-based and established SEZs for developing Sri Lanka’s policy regime for Port City. The report suggests that Sri Lanka has the twin advantages of leveraging a strategic geographical location and drawing on the experience of SEZs elsewhere on what works and what does not. It concludes that putting in place conducive national economic policies and a competitive SEZ framework will markedly improve the odds for Port City to succeed over time in the backdrop of a challenging post-COVID-19 economic era.