The Port of Colombo has been ranked as the world’s fastest growing port among the top 30 container ports for the first half of 2018. This is a positive sign of the development of the shipping and ports industry of the country where Sri Lanka covers a huge portion of its annual dollar requirement. In the wake of these positive signs it is important defining the challenges for the proposed East Container Terminal (ECT).
President Sirisena and Ports and Shipping Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe had taken a strong decision not to drive for a PPP in ECT and to operate the terminal 100% by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA).
East Container Terminal
Under the Colombo Port Development plan initiated in 2005, three container terminals (South/ East and West) were proposed with China Merchant Holdings (CMH) winning the tender. CMH built and commenced operating CICT through a partnership with SLPA on a contract of 35 years. The next step was developing ECT and the Rajapaksa administration commenced construction.
When the current government came in to power the 400m long first phase of the ECT (one berth and a container yard) were already completed with an investment of US$ 80 million. But the development of ECT kept on dragging – it was a dilemma whether it should be developed as a PPP or not.
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