Sri Lankan Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya has informed the parliament in Colombo that a special one-off permit was granted to a private contractor to export stockpiled rock boulders directly to the Maldives.
Responding to parliamentary inquiries on Friday, Prime Minister Amarasuriya explained that the authorization permits the clearance and export of substantial rock stone deposits that had remained accumulated adjacent to the Magampura Mahinda Rajapaksa Port in Hambantota. The statement was reported by Colombo-based newspaper Daily Mirror.
The Prime Minister clarified that the initial arrangement had been structured to address long-standing land congestion at the southern port while supplying regional demand. Under the permit, the extracted rock material is being transported by sea to support ongoing infrastructure developments and harbor revetments in the Maldives:
"The permit was granted specifically to clear the rock stones piled up near the Magampura Port with the objective of clearing the designated port area, serving as a single, one-off authorization."
Due to the complete absence of natural domestic rock quarries in the coral atolls, the Maldives relies almost entirely on overseas maritime imports of heavy granite armor rock, basalt, and aggregate materials. These materials are critical for coastal protection structures, breakwaters, sea walls, and large-scale land reclamation ventures such as Ras Malé and island harbor upgrades undertaken by state contractors including MTCC.
Amarasuriya assured lawmakers that the one-time export concession complies with Sri Lankan environmental regulations and port management protocols, emphasizing that commercial shipments would not disrupt domestic construction supply or local shoreline conservation requirements.
Bilateral trade ties between Colombo and Malé have maintained steady growth in recent years, with construction aggregates, fresh agricultural produce, and specialized maritime logistics forming core components of mutual economic exchange. Detailed Sri Lankan parliamentary proceedings are accessible via parliament.lk.
