Second container port in Sri Lanka; Hambanthota or Trincomalee: an analysis using the game theory

Despite its early start, Colombo remains being the only containerised port of Sri Lanka. A second container port, therefore, would be desirable in solving the prevailing capacity problem. Hambanthota and Trincomalee appear to be the ideal candidates for this position. For this study, the overall expected utility at the mixed Nash Equilibrium was calculated for Hambanthota and Trincomalee, analysing opinion survey data to choose the viable outcome with better pay‐off from the given two alternatives. The results indicate that the level of preference for Trincomalee as the second container port is significantly higher than that for Hambanthota.