Editing Colombo (section)

===Harbour===
[[File:ColomboHarbour-SriLanka02.jpg|thumb|Container handling at Colombo Port.]]
[[Port of Colombo|Colombo Harbour]] is the largest and one of the busiest [[port]]s in Sri Lanka. Colombo was established primarily as a port city during the colonial era, with an artificial harbour that has been expanded over the years. The [[Sri Lanka Navy]] maintains a [[naval base]], ''SLNS Rangalla'', within the harbour.

The Port of Colombo handled 3.75&nbsp;million [[twenty-foot equivalent unit]]s in 2008, 10.6% up on 2007 (which itself was 9.7% up on 2006), bucking the global economic trend. Of those, 817,000 were local shipments with the rest transshipments. With a capacity of 5.7&nbsp;million TEUs and a dredged depth of over 15&nbsp;m (49&nbsp;ft), the Colombo Harbour is one of the busiest ports in the world and ranks among the top 25 ports (23rd). Sri Lanka's Port of Colombo is said to be the busiest, largest port in the Indian Ocean.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cost of Living in Colombo, Sri Lanka – PropertyInLanka.com |url=https://www.propertyinlanka.com/cost-of-living-in-colombo-sri-lanka/ |access-date=2024-03-31 |language=en-GB}}</ref>

Colombo is part of the [[21st Century Maritime Silk Road]] that runs from the Chinese coast to the Upper Adriatic region with its rail connections to [[Central Europe|Central]] and [[Eastern Europe]].<ref>[https://www.france24.com/en/20190324-sri-lanka-new-chinese-silk-road-disappointment-economy-debt-italy-france-investment In Sri Lanka, the new Chinese Silk Road is a disappointment]</ref><ref>[https://jakartaglobe.id/news/china-silk-road-project-sri-lanka-delayed-beijing-toughens-stance/ China 'Silk Road' Project in Sri Lanka Delayed as Beijing Toughens Stance]</ref><ref>Wolf D. Hartmann, Wolfgang Maennig, Run Wang: Chinas neue Seidenstraße. (2017).</ref><ref>Jean-Marc F. Blanchard "China's Maritime Silk Road Initiative and South Asia" (2018) pp 55.</ref><ref>[https://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/sri-lanka-key-component-in-21st-century-maritime-silk-road-china-118072800693_1.html Sri Lanka 'key component' in 21st Century Maritime Silk Road: China]</ref>