COPE probes delays in East Container Terminal project

Colombo, Nov. 15 (Daily Mirror) - The Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) has held extensive discussions on the prolonged delays in the construction of the East Container Terminal (ECT) at the Colombo Port and the issues arising from the setback.

The matter was taken up at a COPE meeting held on November 13 in Parliament, chaired by MP Dr. Nishantha Samaraweera, as part of the committee’s examination of the Auditor General’s Reports for 2022 and 2023 and the current performance of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA), the Department of Communication of Parliament said.

The SLPA had previously been summoned before COPE on September 10, where the Auditor General’s findings and the authority’s operational progress were reviewed. However, several unresolved issues from that session were carried forward to the latest meeting.

During the discussions, the committee highlighted that Cabinet approval had been granted in November 2021 to award a Rs. 40,273 million contract for development work on the ECT. COPE raised concerns over the subsequent delays and examined circumstances that contributed to the slowdown of the entire project.