From an aerial perspective, the lengthy and meandering coastline of Colombo may look familiar, but this year, the country’s biggest port is changing expectations around shipping in South Asia. Since 2025, the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) intends to move a record 8.2 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs)—up from 7.78 million in 2022—marked as rapid recovery and newer capacity due to improvements made across the port’s facilities. Numbers alone are not just better performance; they map in new players and new spaces. The Western Container Terminal (WCT)—which came online earlier this year—has quickly increased volumes since opening, bought, of course, by the new Colombo West International Container Terminal (CWICT) with India’s Adani group, along with newer private terminals which are all changing the throughput landscape for Colombo. The China-backed Colombo International Container Terminal (CICT) and John Keells’ South Asia Gateway Terminal (SAGT) were established by 2024 to handle past volumes of millions of TEUs; however, the new operator(s) have maintained a high throughput status for Colombo, allowing it to thrive in its own stratosphere.
Why has there been such a sudden surge in volume? Part of this is geography, and part is geopolitics. Colombo is located at the intersection of the India-Europe and Asia-Africa shipping routes. When the Red Sea was rendered unusable in recent years, many lines decided to route ships around the Cape of Good Hope—a detour that ultimately grew transshipment flows to/from Colombo. As a result, a large portion of the port’s throughput consists of transshipment. The 2024 rebound (after a dip during Sri Lanka’s crisis in 2022) largely involved redirected services. The result has been a port that has not only made-up ground on lost business but has captured new market share in a volatile global environment. Officials are aiming for even greater success. The SLPA envisages that Port Colombo’s overall capacity could grow to about 15 million TEUs by 2026, which surely would make it one of the busiest transshipment centres in the region. That figure is a result of phased expansion plans, deeper drafts, and improved yard handling service that all together lead to improved vessel turnaround for both mega-ships and feeder services. The quicker vessel call times through more berths will support importers, exporters, and logistics managers in just-in-time supply chains, potentially meaning days off their production schedules.
In addition to cranes and throughput, Colombo’s maritime change is feeding larger urban and economic strategies. The neighbouring Port City development—land reclaimed from the sea, which is being pitched as a future financial and commercial district—highlights how port developments are being coupled with plans for city buildings. If Colombo’s terminals escalate, the resulting economic impacts on warehousing, cold-chain logistics, freight services, and even realestate opportunities could be profound.
Operational details matter too. New container yards, advanced robotic cranes, and deeper berths are more than winning visuals—they will increase Colombo’s efficiency. The SLPA’s terminal upgrades and equipment manifests point to heavier lift capabilities and longer quay lengths, enabling the port to accept larger container ships and turn them faster. The result is a technological improvement that translates immediately to capacity and revenues.
Yet, expanding paths brings questions. Policymakers and industry participants continue to grapple with environmental protections, marine safety considerations (highlighted by incidents like the Express Pearl fire), and regional insurance issues that remain unresolved. Colombo must balance speedy development with safety and sustainability to maintain its hard-earned position on the global liner map.
Colombo’s 2025 run rate is a reminder that ports are living infrastructure: shaped by geopolitics, technology and private investment. Particularly if the 8.2 million TEU prediction holds and the drivers of expansion chart a steady course, Sri Lanka’s capital may not just be handling more boxes; it could even change a corner of maritime trade, where a small number of hours in time difference at a transshipment hub leads to billions of dollars of trade.
