President to inaugurate construction of East Container Terminal today

• The terminal, constructed in two phases, will be fully operational from July, 2024
• Will add 3.5mn TEUs to Port of Colombo’s current capacity of 7mnb TEUs 
• SLPA reveals plans to complete the construction of Colombo North Port to position Port of Colombo among top 5 ports in the world 
• Construction of West Container Terminal given to Adani-JKH JV to commence in Feb.

By Nishel Fernando
Marking a milestone in Sri Lanka’s shipping industry, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is scheduled to inaugurate the construction of East Container Terminal (ECT) of the Port of 
Colombo today.

“ECT construction will be inaugurated by the President Gotabaya Rajapaksa tomorrow with the participation of Prime Minister Mahinda  Rajapaksa and the Minister of Finance Basil Rajapaksa. The ECT, which would have 1,320 meter quay wall and spanning across 75 hectares, will be ready to commence full operations from 4th of July 2024 onwards,” the Minister of Ports & Shipping Rohitha Abeygunawardena told reporters in 
Colombo yesterday.

At a total cost of US$ 520 million, the construction of the ECT is scheduled to be concluded in two phases. Phase one is scheduled to be ready for operations on July 7, 2023 with a 600 metre quay wall. 

With a 420 metre quay wall built with US$ 100 million investment, SLPA is currently operating the ECT using the cranes ordered for Jaya Container Terminal (JCT)-5. However, SLPA Chairman Capt. Nihal Keppetipola noted that these cranes will be replaced with cranes ordered for the ECT.  Last November, Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Co. Ltd, a unit of China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) won the international tender to supply 12 ship-to-shore cranes and 40 automated rail mounted gantry cranes for 
the ECT. 

 According to Capt. Keppetipola, the cost of the required equipment for the terminal is estimated at US$ 300 million.

The civil construction work of the ECT was awarded to a joint venture between Access Engineering PLC (AEL) and China Harbour Engineering, another unit of CCC. The cost of civil construction is estimated at US$ 200 million, which is to be directly financed with SLPA funds. In addition, US$ 20 million will be invested in a terminal operation system.

Once the ECT becomes fully operational in 2024, Minister Abeygunawardena highlighted that Port of Colombo’s capacity will be increased to handle 10.5 million TEUs from the current seven million TEUs, becoming the 13th busiest container port in the world.

Commenting on potential competition arising from China Merchant Group-managed Hambantota Port, Capt. Keppetipola dismissed such claims as unrealistic.  “I cannot say much about their (Hambantota Port) future. They also have plans to develop container terminal at a later stage, but they will never compete with the Port of Colombo as it doesn’t make sense to have two competing hubs in the close vicinity,” he stressed.

Meanwhile, Minister Abeygunawardena announced that the construction of West Container Terminal (WCT) is scheduled to commence in February this year.  India’s Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) last year signed the build-operate-transfer (BOT) agreement to develop and operate WCT with its local partner John Keells Holdings (JKH) and SLPA, with an investment of US$ 700 million.

With the WCT coming into operation as the third deep-water terminal, the Port of Colombo’s capacity is set to increase by another 3.5 million TEUs. In addition, the SLPA also plans to develop Colombo North Port, to the north of Port of Colombo, spreading from the Kelani River in the Modara area, up to the existing northern breakwater of the Colombo Port. The SLPA in 2020 sign an agreement with AECOM Infrastructure & Environment UK Limited to conduct a feasibility study for this.

Minister Abeygunawardena noted that the government plans to complete the construction of Colombo North Port by end of 2035 adding another three terminals and increasing the capacity of Port of Colombo to 30-35 million TEUs and possibly placing the Port of Colombo among top five ports in the world.  “Sri Lanka is in an ideal place to become the hub of South-East Asia, being the feeder nerve centre for South East Asia. No shipping line will deviate from the East-West route due to various operational costs and shipping costs. We are now getting on to the correct track,” Capt. Keppetipola added.