Offices in Colombo, Sri Lanka and Israel
Port City Colombo· 5 min read
Port City Colombo remains Sri Lanka’s highest-profile special economic zone, and the official update given to Parliament in mid-October 2026 is more revealing than a simple headline number. The Colombo Port City Economic Commission (CPCEC) reported that primary investments across nine leased land parcels have reached USD 1.12 billion. At the same time, five earlier project proposals have fallen away, underlining the gap between initial interest and projects that actually break ground.
Director General Revan Wickramasuriya and Chairman Harsha Amarasekera set out the position before the Committee on Public Finance. Lease agreements have been executed and completed for two residential plots, two mixed-use developments, a marina plot and a hotel plot.
Construction, they said, has started on several of those sites. The marina project is under way. Piling has begun for the Colombo International Financial Centre (CIFC), developed by Ceylon Real Estate Holdings. ICC Port City Colombo’s Bay 1 development has reached the first-floor stage, and piling is under way at Home Lands and Prime Melwa Project 1. Residential construction by ICC Port City is also in progress. The Marina Hotel, which has a signed agreement, had not yet started construction at the time of the briefing.
CIFC is presented as a flagship for the zone’s financial and business district. Its first phase is described as a USD 515 million, 160,000-square-metre mixed-use development of premium office space, luxury residences and a retail podium.
The commission is targeting a further USD 1 billion in pipeline investments over the next 12 months. Colombo Port City comprises 118 land parcels. China-backed CHEC Port City Colombo is expected to market 48 of them, while the government will offer 28 parcels for sale and retain common areas.
Of ten previously proposed projects, five have been withdrawn and five were described as still operating. The withdrawals include a proposed Asiri Hospital, an educational facility by Gateway, and a mixed-use development by Clothespin Management and Development. Universal Entertainment Colombo withdrew during due diligence on a 10-hectare plot earmarked for an integrated resort. Those exits do not cancel the USD 1.12 billion already tied to leased parcels, but they are a reminder that letters of interest are not the same as a completed building.
Separately, reporting on 8 November 2026, based on a technical review of Port City gazettes dated 11 October 2026, described a group of 68 companies designated as secondary Businesses of Strategic Importance (BSIs). They were gazetted under Gazette Nos. 2483/18–85 on 10 April 2026, and have disclosed five-year investment commitments totalling about USD 166.87 million.
That figure applies only to this latest group of 68 companies, not to the earlier cohort. The same review recorded 108 secondary BSIs gazetted before April 2026, and put the wider group of secondary BSIs at 180, or 73.5% of 245 entities recorded under the Port City licensing framework.
Unlike primary BSIs, secondary businesses are not required to undertake land development. They can operate from leased office or business premises while using the tax and regulatory incentives of the zone. About 55% of the latest secondary disclosures are in IT and IT-enabled services, about 20% in BPO, and the remaining 25% in advisory services, wholesale trade, logistics and financial services. Companies in the latest group are incorporated in a range of jurisdictions, including the British Virgin Islands, the United States, Australia, Canada, Malaysia, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates.
Among the larger disclosed five-year commitments in that group are Ren XYZ Inc. at USD 45 million, Intelligent Optical Solutions PC Ltd at USD 16.57 million, GAC Services Ltd at USD 14.94 million, Casa BPO Sdn. Bhd. at USD 14.87 million, Robotic Assistance Devices Lanka Ltd at USD 12.53 million, and Intervest Global Delivery Ltd at USD 11.43 million. The list also includes businesses linked to international groups such as Deloitte, Ansell, GAC Group and others named in the gazette review.
Under the Colombo Port City Economic Commission Act No. 11 of 2021, investments into the zone, including land leases and corporate equity, must originate from designated foreign currencies sourced from overseas or through authorised offshore foreign currency accounts. The commission operates as a single-window facilitator.
On 4 November 2026, Port City Colombo held its first investor forum in India, in Chennai, organised with the Deputy High Commission of Sri Lanka. According to a Ministry of Foreign Affairs note published on 10 November, more than 200 business leaders, investors, policymakers and industry representatives attended. Officials presented the zone as Sri Lanka’s only foreign-currency-designated special economic zone, with a single-window approval mechanism, 100% foreign ownership, and transactions in 16 foreign currencies, including the Indian rupee. The discussion covered real estate, financial services, logistics, IT and technology.
Port City is no longer only a masterplan. There is a sizable stock of leased primary investment, several sites are in the ground, and a growing roster of secondary service businesses is using the zone’s incentive framework without having to buy a land plot. That can be relevant for Israeli firms considering a regional office, an IT or professional-services base, or a residential or hospitality commitment in a special economic zone that transacts in foreign currency.
The withdrawn proposals matter just as much. Due diligence can end a project, construction can lag a signed hotel agreement, and headline “commitments” over five years are not the same as cash already spent. Any serious look at Port City should separate land-development projects from secondary licences, verify the status of a specific plot or vehicle, and run legal and tax analysis before money is committed.
Kenglobe Lanka can help you assess whether Port City is the right structure for your plans. We do not publish official application portals or third-party contact routes on this page; the next step is to speak with us.
If you would like guidance on Port City Colombo — office, residential, hospitality or a licensed services business — contact Kenglobe Lanka. Write to sh@kenigs.com or message us on WhatsApp.
This page is general information, not investment or legal advice. Figures are as disclosed by the commission and as subsequently reported, and may be updated.
Source: Colombo Port City Economic Commission disclosures reported on 17 October 2026; subsequent reporting on 8 November 2026 on gazetted secondary businesses of strategic importance; Ministry of Foreign Affairs note on the Chennai investor forum of 4 November 2026
In mid-October 2026 the Colombo Port City Economic Commission informed Parliament that primary investments across nine leased land parcels had reached USD 1.12 billion. Lease agreements had been executed and completed for two residential plots, two mixed-use developments, a marina plot and a hotel plot.
Commission officials said five of ten previously proposed projects had dropped out, while the remaining five continued. The withdrawn proposals included a planned Asiri Hospital, an educational facility by Gateway, a mixed-use development by Clothespin Management and Development, and Universal Entertainment Colombo, which withdrew during due diligence on a 10-hectare plot earmarked for an integrated resort. A signed Marina Hotel project was also reported as not yet having started construction.
Unlike primary BSIs, secondary businesses are not required to undertake land development within Port City. They can operate from leased office or business premises while using tax and regulatory incentives available under the special economic zone framework. A November 2026 review of gazettes put the latest group of 68 secondary BSIs at about USD 166.87 million in five-year investment commitments, with IT and IT-enabled services accounting for roughly 55% and BPO around 20%.
According to the commission’s mid-October briefing, the marina project has started, piling has begun for the Colombo International Financial Centre (developed by Ceylon Real Estate Holdings), ICC Port City Colombo’s Bay 1 development has reached the first-floor stage, piling is under way at Home Lands and Prime Melwa Project 1, and residential construction by ICC Port City is also under way. CIFC’s first phase is described as a USD 515 million, 160,000-square-metre mixed-use scheme of offices, residences and a retail podium.
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