A Parliamentary Sectoral Oversight Committee on Infrastructure and Strategic Development has formally summoned the Secretary to the Ports Ministry to give a written explanation for six months of non-compliance with committee directives, Daily FT reported on Thursday.
Committee Chair and SJB MP S.M. Marikkar told members that the Secretary had been repeatedly absent from hearings and had failed to present required financial plans for the regional ports of Galle, Trincomalee and Kankesanthurai. The Secretary has been given a week to submit reasons for the absences under parliamentary powers.
The censure came even as the Sri Lanka Ports Authority reported strong headline numbers for 2025, with profit before tax rising 20% to Rs. 56 billion and net profit jumping 111% to Rs. 42 billion. Marikkar acknowledged the overall performance but said the focus had to shift to underperforming regional assets and sector-wide accountability.
Committee members flagged losses and underutilisation at several ports. Galle posted a roughly Rs. 200 million loss, though officials said the port generates about Rs. 1.1 billion in indirect marine earnings by servicing around 500 ships a month through activities such as ship handling and water supply. Trincomalee is attracting investor interest but officials insisted any agreement would follow a structured and transparent framework rather than ad hoc arrangements. Kankesanthurai Harbour continues to run at a loss despite higher activity in 2025 than the previous year.
Authorities told the committee that plans are being developed to invite private sector participation in Galle through a Request for Proposals process aimed at unlocking the port’s commercial potential. The committee said loss-making state ports should either be made profitable or have their losses reduced to sustainable levels and called for clearer strategic plans, improved transparency and stronger institutional accountability across the ports sector.
The oversight committee’s intervention adds to a widening slate of parliamentary scrutiny actions against ministries and state-owned enterprises in early April, and signals closer continuing supervision of ports governance as private-sector participation negotiations progress.
