Wednesday Oct 21, 2026
Wednesday Oct 21, 2026
Wednesday, 21 October 2026 00:23 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Access Engineering PLC expects to recover about Rs. 1.45 billion of the Rs. 1.76 billion it invested in the South Asia Commercial and Logistics Hub, after the venture’s shareholders agreed not to proceed with the project, leaving the company to recognise a loss of about Rs. 310 million in its own financial statements.
The shareholders of South Asia Commercial and Logistics Hub Ltd. mutually agreed to abandon the project in view of changes in external circumstances, including adjustments to its implementation environment and timetable, together with the respective commercial considerations of the parties, the company said.
They have agreed to enter into a settlement agreement for the orderly termination of the project and related agreements.
Access Engineering holds a 15% stake in South Asia Commercial and Logistics Hub. Under the settlement, it is expected to receive $ 3.29 million, about Rs. 1.09 billion, as its proportionate share of the settlement refund, together with about Rs. 365 million representing its share of the available distributable funds. Total recovery is estimated at about Rs. 1.45 billion, based on an indicative exchange rate of Rs. 331 to the dollar.
The impact differs between the Group and the company. In its audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 March, 2026, the Group had already recognised its share of the venture’s losses, amounting to about Rs. 387 million, reducing the investment’s carrying value, the value at which it is recorded in the accounts, to about Rs. 1.38 billion. As the anticipated settlement proceeds exceed that carrying value, no further material financial loss is presently anticipated in the Group’s consolidated accounts.
In the company’s own financial statements, however, the investment is carried at its original cost of Rs. 1.76 billion. Recovering about Rs. 1.45 billion would therefore result in a company-level loss of about Rs. 310 million.
The estimates are subject to exchange rates applicable on the actual transaction or payment dates, final settlement arrangements and applicable accounting adjustments, the company said.
The project was launched in April 2023 as a $ 392 million, 50-year Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) venture to build what was billed as South Asia’s largest commercial and logistics complex in the Port of Colombo, with China Merchants Port Holdings (CMPort) holding a 70% stake, and the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) and Access Engineering each holding 15%. The complex was to offer 530,000 cubic metres of storage capacity in an eight-floor building.
