Previously struggling Sri Lankan port town looking shipshape

Sri Lanka's Yuri Kannangara walks the docks with pride as his hometown of Hambantota now boasts a bustling international port with advanced technology, and the 51-year-old believes the facility will enable the area to become an economic growth driver.

Kannangara has been working in the shipping industry for over two decades.

But to support his family, he has spent much of that time away from loved ones, toiling in South African ports as a mechanic, where job prospects and salaries were more competitive.