"Sri Lanka with its strategic location provides a gateway to the Maldives where we are targeting to entire the tourism industry," chairman of CP World Group chairman Makarand Pradhan said.
"Plus it also provides a gateway to the Indian port and this becomes a very, very important destination to us.
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Sri Lanka's Colombo port is an important transhipment hub for container traffic from India. The government has just awarded a contract to a Sino-Sri Lankan joint venture to build a new terminal.
"Colombo is a growing market especially considering the present pleasant situation and is an ideal opportunity for us to move on and forward," group chief executive Ken Chiang said.
CP World has 55 offices in 28 countries.
It has had a presence in Sri Lanka for 16 years.
The group had its annual meeting for the first time in Sri Lanka this year to which 145 delegates came. A 30-year war ended in May 2009 and Sri Lanka has seen an influx of tourists to the country.
The firm hired t