East Container Terminal inaugurates for operations

The East Container Terminal ( ECT) of Sri Lanka Ports Authority was unveiled for its container operations by Minister of Port and Shipping Rohitha Abeygunawardena yesterday, Ministry said.

The MSC Emma, which belongs to the world’s second-largest shipping line in terms of container vessel capacity, was the first ship to be served at the ECT yesterday. 

As part of the expansion of South Asia’s hub port, the SLPA built the breakwater for ECT and subsequently it was to be developed as a public private partnership. Multiple models were explored by successive governments in the recent past and ECT came up for competitive bidding as well. 

A joint venture consortium involving companies from India and Japan were shortlisted, after it was communicated that a party with Indian ownership is preferred to manage a terminal in Colombo, as the most modern facility CICT is owned and operated by a majority China-owned corporation.

The State Minister of Warehouse Facilities, Container Yards, Port Supply Facilities and Boats and Shipping Industry Development, Jayantha Samaraweera, Sri Lanka Ports Authority Chairman General Daya Ratnayake and many other distinguished invitees including the Secretaries of the Ministries and higher officials in the management of Sri Lanka Ports Authority have witnessed this auspicious event.