ECONOMYNEXT — Sri Lanka’s Prime Melwa (Private) Limited will invest 112.2 million US dollars and 15.9 billion rupees to build a landmark mixed-use waterfront project within Colombo Port City, following Cabinet approval to designate it as a Primary Business of Strategic Importance.

The designation grants the development project exemptions and incentives under Section 53 of the Colombo Port City Economic Commission Act No. 11 of 2021, which requires Cabinet approval.

“The proposed development aims to construct a landmark mixed-use waterfront project in the Colombo Port City over the next few years, creating approximately 800 direct employment opportunities,” minister Nalinda Jayatissa said.

The venture brings combined capital commitment to over 112 million dollars in foreign direct investment alongside local rupee funding. (Colombo/September15/2026)

ECONOMYNEXT — Sri Lanka’s Cabinet has approved an additional 2,500 million rupees to the Paddy Marketing Board (PMB) to finance ongoing procurement for the 2026 Yala season, minister Nalinda Jayatissa said.

The government initially released 6,000 million rupees to the board, but this was insufficient.

“As the paddy harvest has not yet been fully gathered in the Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Puttalam, Mannar, and Mullaitivu districts, as well as in the Mahaweli B, C, and H zones, it has been observed that the funds currently allocated for procurement in these areas are insufficient,” he said.

To bridge the shortfall, the Cabinet approved a proposal to release an additional 2,500 million rupees — from the 7,500 million rupees allocated to the ministry for the expedited 2026 Yala purchasing program — to the board.

Jayatissa told reporters the PMB originally planned to buy 39,500 metric tons across 143 warehouses, but purchases had already surged to 67,156 metric tons, costing roughly 8,221 million rupees.

Responding to questions over reported payment delays to farmers in areas like Ampara, Jayatissa denied systemic problems and noted that procurement had far exceeded targets.

“You can see that right now, we have actually exceeded our limits — we have procured well above our targeted amount, with these 2,500 million rupees, we have the ability to pay them,” Jayatissa said.

He said 19,426 metric tons have already been bought in Ampara for 2,350 million rupees, which has been disbursed.

Additionally, 10,000 million rupees was provided as loans to small and medium millers, while 7,500 million rupees was allocated to District Secretaries and Government Agents for procurement. (Colombo/Sep15/2026)

ECONOMYNEXT — Sri Lanka will award a 4.01 million US dollar 5-year contract to SITA Switzerland SARL to provide global network infrastructure services for SriLankan Airlines, minister Nalinda Jayatissa said.

“A global network infrastructure platform is essential to connect critical aviation services, including passenger processing systems, departure control, ticketing and seat reservations, cargo management, and airport operations systems,” Jayatissa said.

Following the expiration of the previous service agreement, the government called for international competitive bids to select a new provider.

Only one bid was received.

SITA Switzerland SARL will provide global network infrastructure services to Sri Lankan Airlines for a 5-year period running from October 1, 2026, to September 30, 2031. (Colombo/Sep14/2026)

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s cabinet of ministers have approved a proposal to award a 791.68 million (excluding tax) contract to Asset Engineering (Pvt) Ltd to build the Blackpool-Ambewela-Pattipola-Horton Plains road, minister Nalinda Jayatissa said.

Tenders were called for developing the stretch of road, B 512, from the km 5+200 mark to the km 12+000 mark, and Asset Engineering was the lowest responsive bidder, he said.

4 bids were received.

The road was damaged 10 months ago during Cyclone Ditwah. (Colombo/Sep15/2026)

ECONOMYNEXT — A mandatory offer for Sri Lanka’s Industrial Asphalts (Ceylon) (IAC) has fallen through after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) refused to clear a share transfer due to the company being placed on the Colombo Stock Exchange Watchlist due to non-compliance.

The joint offer by Arcasia Investment & Trading (Pvt) Ltd and ATX Partners (Pvt) Ltd closed on September 12, receiving acceptances amounting to 1,880,693,010 shares or 50.16 percent of the company.

The acceptances were secured from two major shareholders, executive director Ramanan Govindasamy and Srikumar Balasubramaniyam.

However, the transaction stalled after IAC shares were transferred to the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) Watch List on September 7, following the company’s failure to submit its Annual Report for the financial year ended March 31.

Under CSE Listing Rules, company directors are restricted from transacting in shares while listed on the Watch List without explicit prior approval from the SEC.

The regulator informed the offerors on September 11 that approval for the share transfer involving the executive director will not be granted until IAC remedies the underlying non-compliance that triggered its placement on the Watch List. 

IAC shares were trading down 14.29 percent at 0.60 rupees. (Colombo/September15/2026)

ECONOMYNEXT – The European Union-funded CIRCULAR project will provide 3 grants totalling 110,000 euros to support Sri Lanka’s university-led research into reducing single-use plastics across Colombo and Galle’s food value chains.

The funds will support research teams from the Faculty of Agriculture at the University of Ruhuna, and the Faculty of Medicine and Faculty of Computing at the University of Kelaniya.

“Through our research grant programme, we aim to generate evidence that can contribute to better policy, planning and decision-making, while also strengthening collaboration between researchers, policymakers and practitioners” said Mahmoud Gaballah, CIRCULAR Project Manager at Expertise France.

Plastic waste is a growing challenge for Sri Lanka’s food sector, yet gaps remain in understanding where and how single-use plastics are used, how they move through food value chains, and where interventions could have the greatest impact.

The studies will examine the use, flow and impacts of single-use plastics (SUPs) across selected food and beverage value chains in the Colombo and Galle Districts.

The research will seek to identify practical opportunities to reduce plastic use, promote sustainable alternatives and strengthen circular economy practices.

Available data on plastic waste in Sri Lanka, particularly single-use plastics, do not provide sufficient detail on the sectors, sources and types of plastics involved, the EU Delegation in Sri Lanka said.

This limits the ability of policymakers, businesses and other stakeholders to pinpoint where plastic use can be reduced and to assess which interventions could deliver impact.

The research will help provide better understanding of these patterns, supporting targeted and evidence-based action.

The three research teams will use a combination of data collection, waste-flow mapping, environmental and public health assessments, and life-cycle approaches to examine these challenges from different perspectives.

The findings are expected to help identify opportunities to reduce plastic use, improve resource efficiency and promote sustainable packaging and waste management practices.

Alongside research and evidence generation, the project works to raise awareness, encourage behaviour change and support approaches that move away from the traditional “take, make and dispose” model towards a more circular economy.

Circular Economy in the Food Sector (CIRCULAR) project is a three-year initiative focused on reducing food loss and food waste (FLW) and Single-use plastic (SUP) waste in the Food Sector in Sri Lanka.

Funded by the EU and partially co-funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the project is implemented by Expertise France (EF), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. (Colombo/Sep15/2026)