Investment Opportunities in the Construction sector

The construction industry adds almost 9 percent of the GDP of Sri Lanka, employing some 600,000 employees. Over the previous nine years, the building industry has risen quickly in high-end residential, commercial, hotel and resort building and infrastructure growth, with the sectors contributing to GDP estimated at around 7.5 percent in 2018. Building sector annual value is at $3 billion. Many building businesses locally and internationally, are involved in the sector.

Several major infrastructure projects are under construction, including a new Port City within Colombo's town boundaries on newly reclaimed land. The terrorist attacks in April 2019 probably dented some optimism in the real estate and construction industry, but analysts are expecting demand to catch up with the financial recovery and low prices may give developers chances.

Companies in the U.S. have essential opportunities to sell a variety of equipment and technology, from machinery and heavy equipment to building appliances to heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. Buyers are often price-sensitive, but high-end innovations have more room to buy goods and services of high quality. Sri Lankan developers are also often associated with U.S. engineering and design companies, particularly for high-end office buildings, luxury flats, or resorts.

The government recently announced that the Megapolis Project, which hopes to radically modernize urban infrastructure in and around Colombo using innovative technology (e.g., innovations in smart cities) to propel it to the status of ' high-income developed country ' by 2030. After the 3-decade-long conflict, the industry was motivated mainly by the reconstruction of infrastructure and also in line with attempts to modernize the Sri Lankan economy.

The publicly led construction projects have created the bulk of the contribution to massive growth within the construction industry itself, particularly in projects such as highway construction, port and airport development, and numerous housing projects

OSL Take: Sri Lanka is presently undergoing an aggressive program of growth covering all main areas of the economy on the island.  The Port City project is one of the country's major continuing mega-projects to match Sri Lanka with many financial hubs in South East Asia. Given the geographical location of Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean, the country's relaxed corporate climate and numerous trade arrangements, as well as the island's trade concessions, have created Sri Lanka the perfect company destination in the South Asian area. Foreign businesses/investors could, therefore, investigate possibilities for business/investment in the Port City project in Sri Lanka.
VBS/AT/14102019/TB1