ECT will not be sold or leased - President

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa today (13) assured representatives of port trade unions that the East Container Terminal (ECT) of the Colombo Port would not be sold or leased, the President's Media Division (PMD) stated.

During a meeting held with port trade unions at the Presidential Secretariat, Mr Rajapaksa told them that the previous Government had agreed to sell the ECT to India. The agreement included obtaining a loan from Japan after signing the agreement and using money from that loan to purchase equipment needed to develop the port.

The President pointed out that once the new Government came to power, it was able to negotiate with India to ensure that the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) retained a majority stake of 51% of ownership of the ECT under the agreement. The other 49% will be opened for India's "Adani" Group and other investors, he further said.

The President told representatives of the 23 trade unions who attended the meeting not to hold any suspicions regarding the matter and that they were also welcome to collectively submit their proposals on the programme. He also said that the Government plans to entrust responsibility of operations on the Western Container Terminal to the SLPA.