South Asia’s port sector is undergoing its biggest expansion in years, led by India’s new Galathea Bay transshipment port in the Bay of Bengal, the greenfield Vadhawan port north of Mumbai, and capacity upgrades at Paradip, Chennai and Thoothukudi. In Sri Lanka, the Colombo West International Terminal — which opened in February 2025 with 1.6 million TEU of capacity — is being expanded to 3.2 million TEU by the end of 2026, while a new third berth came online at Colombo’s East Container Terminal in January.
India is also buying into the island’s shipbuilding capacity directly: state-owned Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders acquired a 51% stake in Colombo Dockyard, Sri Lanka’s largest commercial shipyard, positioning New Delhi more firmly on one of the world’s busiest east-west shipping lanes as India and China both compete for influence over the region’s port infrastructure.
Source: IndexBox — https://www.indexbox.io/blog/south-asias-port-industry-transformation-india-and-sri-lanka-lead-growth/
Tags: India, Sri Lanka, South Asia, terminals
