CICT holds Quay Crane Operator competition for first time ever in South Asia

China Merchants Group (CMG), the parent company of Colombo International Container Terminals Limited (CICT), is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year.

To mark this milestone, the company is conducting 150 global competitions among its group. In an effort to recognise and reward the best operators within the company, Colombo International Container Terminals Limited, located in the south Harbour of Port of Colombo, hosted the first ever Quay Crane (QC) operator competition in South Asia. The goal is to promote exceptional safety standards and continued skills development within all ranks of the QC operators, the company said in a media release.

The competition held within CICT contains two rounds. The participation of all QC operators is mandatory in the 1st round, where overall skills and abilities will be assessed based on strict standardized criteria applicable to all participants taking part.

The top 30 performers from the 1st round will advance to the 2^nd round, which will focus on exceptional skills. The participants have an opportunity to demonstrate, to the best of their ability, skills and expertise in handling containers and operating their stations.

After the 2^nd round, six of the top-scoring QC operators from CICT will receive awards and cash prices across three categories: 1 Gold Winner will receive Rs.600,000/-, 2 Silver Winners will receive Rs.400,000/- each, and 3 Bronze Winners will receive Rs.200,000/- each.

Colombo International Container Terminal (CICT}, which manages the South Terminal at the Port of Colombo, is the first deep water terminal in South Asia and the only one of its kind in operation within the region. Since its inception in 2014, the terminal has incrementally grown its volumes handled from 686,639 TEUs (in 2014} to just over 3.2 million TEUs in 2021; the highest done by a terminal in South Asia.