Who cries for Hambantota, and why?

This article is written to set the record straight in response to misleading narratives about the recent Litro Gas tender. It is not about protecting one company’s interest, but about revealing how Hambantota, if rationally utilised, can deliver long-overdue benefits to Sri Lanka’s economy and people.

- By Dr.W.K.H. Wegapitiya

For time immemorial, Sri Lanka has been a decisive node in global trade.

Hambantota: A location the world cannot ignore

From the days of the Silk Route, Ceylon—as it was then called—connected East and West. Historical records from the Godawaya port in Hambantota show how this southern coast played a role in international trade centuries ago. After 75 years of independence, despite every Government repeating Hambantota’s location-specific advantage as an election slogan, little was done to convert that advantage into real economic prosperity.

For more than two decades, successive Governments in Sri Lanka have spoken of making the country an “energy hub of the Indian Ocean.” It has been an easy slogan to roll off the tongue in Budget speeches, election manifestos, and policy documents. Yet, when we examine the record, very little has been achieved in practice. No new refinery has been built, no LNG terminal has been established, and no major strategic hydrocarbon storage project has been delivered. Instead, Sri Lanka has spent nearly twenty years locked in cycles of negotiations with so-called investors that ended in disappointment.

LAUGFS: A bold Sri Lankan enterprise

Into this vacuum of political promises stepped LAUGFS Gas, a homegrown Sri Lankan energy brand with a history of courage. At a time when multinational giants like Shell dominated the LPG trade, LAUGFS broke the monopoly and secured space for local enterprise. No downstream LPG player can survive without an import terminal. LAUGEFS recognised early that Sri Lanka’s energy future—and its own—depended on building large-scale infrastructure. What set the company apart was its willingness to risk capital and pioneer at Hambantota, even when others hesitated.