SLPA feasibility study for the Colombo North Port Development Project 

The Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) is planning to do a feasibility study for the Colombo North Port Development Project focused on expanding capacity of container handling while serving all other port servicers expected from the industry through a UK consultancy.
Under the ADB-funded Transport Project Preparatory Facility, SLPA had a portion to use for the Feasibility study related to the proposed Colombo North Port Project. The duration of the study is expected to be 15 months, a media release issued by the SLPA stated.
SLPA initiated the procurement process through Expression of Interest and subsequently the Request for Proposal and selected the consultant for the feasibility study for the Colombo North Port Development Project. Accordingly, with the approval of the Cabinet of Ministers, SLPA has signed the agreement with AECOM Infrastructure and Environment UK Ltd on February 20, 2020. 
The agreement was signed by Rtd. General Daya Ratnayake, Chairman of SLPA and Capt. Athula Hewavitharana, Managing Director of SLPA and Ralph Lionel Phillips, Regional Director, authorized representative of AECOM Infrastructure and Environment UK Ltd. Further, Peter Neville Jones, Technical Director of AECOM Infrastructure and Environment UK Ltd also participated in the event, the release said.
The development of Port of Colombo has focused on the demand for container transshipment and related logistics businesses instead of growth of the domestic market. As the Port of Colombo is situated in the commercial city of Colombo, finding area for container transshipment and logistic development is a challenging issue for the Port industry.

The release noted that the South Port of Colombo has planned to cater to the container transshipment demand from the Indian sub continent and having any other commodity terminal services in the South port of Colombo is inappropriate.
 
As the energy demand of the country increases rapidly with the large developments taking place in the Colombo city, the requirement of a terminal facility for the importation of liquefy Natural Gas to the Colombo sounds a mandatory requirement. 

The South Port of Colombo predominately focuses on transshipment and domestic container handling. The capacity of the Port of Colombo within the existing breakwaters is around 12 million TEU per annum. The extension of the West Container Terminal brings the capacity of the Port of Colombo at the range of 15 m TEU. This has been planned for next 10 years for which feasibility study and detailed technical study have been completed and ready to implement. 
The SLPA needs a long term plan for the next 30 years to enhance additional capacity need for container handing capacity of around 35 m TEU. In consideration of these issues, the SLPA has planned to develop a new port, the Colombo North Port, in the northern side of the existing Port of Colombo. The proposed Colombo North Port may spread from the Kelani River in the Modera area, up to the existing northern breakwater of the Colombo Port. The SLPA intends to use the proposed Colombo North Port for liquid bulk, dry bulk, Ro Ro and containers. The North Port has been planned to implement in stages depending on the demand. The SLPA is focused on providing infrastructure facilities and port services well ahead of the demand. (SD)