Half of earlier Port City approvals fall away, CoPF finds

• Counts five of 10 earlier approved investors as having withdrawn or not proceeding
• ‘Seven-star’ hotel and record-chasing art gallery project dropped; investor loses only $ 10,000 fee
• Integrated resort applicant for 10-hectare plot pulls out during due diligence
• Says some names on CoPF’s list were never gazetted

Half of the investors approved in an earlier round at Colombo Port City have withdrawn or are no longer proceeding, Parliament’s Committee on Public Finance (CoPF) was told. 

CoPF members questioned how the Colombo Port City Economic Commission (CPCEC) vets ambitious proposals before gazetting them. Reviewing 10 earlier approvals, CoPF Chairman MP Dr. Harsha de Silva said five had withdrawn and five remained in operation. 

Those he listed as no longer proceeding included the Asiri Port City Hospital and the Gateway International Campus. The CPCEC, chaired by Harsha Amarasekera, said some of the entities named had been in the pipeline but were never gazetted.

The most striking withdrawal was Clothespin Management and Development, which the CPCEC Director-General said was gazetted in July 2025. According to the Gazette as read by Dr. de Silva, the project promised a seven-star hotel, luxury residences, Grade A offices, retail space, and a vertical art gallery intended to win a Guinness World Record as the world’s largest art piece. 

Dr. de Silva questioned whether the Commission had found these plans credible. The CPCEC Director-General said the investor had informed the Commission it was not proceeding.

The exit cost the investor little. The Commission said the applicant had paid a $ 10,000 application fee, the standard fee for processing an application. Because the hotel plot sat on land leased to the Chinese project company, the investor is also believed to have forfeited a token deposit paid to that company. Members noted that the investor therefore lost only the fee to the Commission, despite the cost of processing and gazetting the project.

Universal Entertainment Colombo, which had considered a 10-hectare plot earmarked for an integrated resort under the Port City’s development control regulations, also withdrew during its due diligence. Dr. de Silva described it as a gaming and casino applicant.

The CPCEC Director-General was unable to identify two other names on the Committee’s list. He said one could be a secondary business or an authorised person rather than a primary developer, and he could not recall the other.

Of the earlier approvals, the developments proceeding include the mixed-use Colombo International Financial Centre, the Colombo Marina development, CIFC Colombo 1, and a residential project by ICC Port City. The Colombo International Financial Centre will comprise around 150,000 square metres of residential, commercial, and retail space, with piling under way. 

The ICC residential project has reached the first-floor stage, while work on the marina itself has begun. CIFC Colombo 1 is expected to start shortly. Amarasekera said the Colombo International Financial Centre involves Chinese construction worth $ 500 million, and that all other projects under way are Sri Lankan.

The Chairman defended the Commission’s record. He said the Port City had been bare land when the Commission first appeared before the Committee, and that nearly 10 parcels have since been leased with significant commitments on six more. Dr. de Silva acknowledged that progress but noted that groundwork had also been laid by previous commissions (See: https://www.ft.lk/front-page/Freehold-clause-rupee-pre-sales-and-BSI-ownership-test-Port-City-safeguards/44-798699).