Don’t ponder on the previous two years; Keep hopes up for next three years: PM

• Construction work of the terminal, which will be conducted in three phases, are scheduled to be completed in 2024
• The PM said that no one should give up hopes or optimistic thoughts they have about the country

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa urged the people not to ponder on the previous two years which were lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic but to keep up hopes for the next three years instead.

The Prime Minister expressed these views while addressing the gathering at the commencement of the construction work of the second phase of the Eastern Container Terminal at the Colombo Port yesterday.  

“The past has value only to the Opposition. We must always embrace the future, not the past. The Prime Minister said that no one should give up hopes or optimistic thoughts they have about the country and that we should embrace the future, leaving the past two years to the critics,” he said.  

The construction work of the second phase of the Eastern Container Terminal at the Colombo Port commenced last morning (12) under the patronage of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.   The President and the Prime Minister unveiled a plaque marking the commencement of construction work at the Terminal.   Construction work of the terminal, which will be conducted in three phases, are scheduled to be completed in 2024. The Terminal which is spread over an area of 75 hectares is 1,320 meteres long.   
Once completed, the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) will inherit a fully-fledged Terminal equipped with 12 STC cranes that handle operations from ships to the land and 40 Rail Mounted Gantry (RMG) Cranes.  

The total expenditure expected to be spent for the project is US$ 510 million and the Ports Authority will spend US$ 200 million.  Access Engineering PLC and China Harbour Engineering Company LTD are jointly carrying out constructions.