COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s Colombo Port plans to increase its container handling volume targeting a 30 million TEU (twenty-foot-equivalent units) container volume by 2030, the Secretary to the Ministry of Ports and Shipping L. P. Jayampathy said. However, in order to achieve the target of 30 million container volume by 2030, the port has to be expanded by six times of the current capacity, the official pointed out.
The Secretary reviewing the future budget of Sri Lanka Port Authority (SLPA) at a special discussion held Tuesday (16) said the first steps will be taken to transform Sri Lanka as the most competitive maritime service center in South Asia.
“The vision of the Sri Lanka Ministry of Ports and Shipping is to develop the Sri Lankan port as the most competitive maritime services providing center in South Asia. However, these developments should happen in a service satisfaction and as well as in an eco-friendly manner,” the Secretary said.
The Secretary to the Ministry of Ports and Shipping noted that Sri Lanka is a very important destination in the maritime affairs along the Western, Eastern Silk Route.
Sri Lanka will be entrusted with a major role as a center for trade and exchange of goods, especially under the proposed trade agreements with India, China, Singapore and other countries, according to the official.
He noted that currently, the port handles about 6 million TEU container volume annually and that can be expanded to 30 million TEU by 2030. Accordingly, the port needs to be expanded five or six times the current capacity, he pointed out.
Therefore, measures are being taken to finish the construction of the Eastern Terminal of the Colombo Port and construct a new western terminal.
“We expect to complete these constructions by around 2020,” the official said. Afterwards, the government expects to develop the port starting from Colombo to North in two stages. The Asian Development Bank and JICA have already agreed to conduct an extensive study on the expansion, MR. Jayampathy added.
Sri Lanka’s Colombo Port has emerged as a growing transshipment hub capable of handling the increasing number of mega-ships vessels with capacities of 10,000 TEUs and up and last year the Colombo Port handled a container volume of 4.908 million TEUs.
