Minister Instructs to Accelerate East Container Terminal Construction

Minister Vijitha Herath has instructed to accelerate the construction work of the East Container Terminal of the Colombo Port, considering it as a special project.

The East Container Terminal of Colombo Port is a topic that has been highly discussed in the country in recent years. The construction started in January 2022, but the construction has been progressing at a very slow pace.

As per the current situation, it has been observed that the construction work of the terminal will get delayed till November 15, 2026.

The officials have been instructed to speed up the construction work and finish it by June 30, 2025 as per the instructions of Roads, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation Services Minister Vijitha Herath.

Special attention has been paid here and special tax concessions have been given for the construction work of the Eastern Container Terminal and interventions have been made to finish the construction work early.

The Cabinet has approved a nearly 20 percent tax cut for the terminal’s construction and import of equipment worth US$ 750 million.

The management says that if not for this concession given to speed up this project, which is fully funded by the Port Authority, it is inevitable that the Port Authority will be pushed into a severe financial crisis.

Here, 12 Ship To Shoe Cranes and 40 Automatic Terminal Cranes have been ordered. The management says that six STS cranes and 20 terminal cranes have already been received.

Thus, the administration is very confident that the Eastern Container Terminal, which is scheduled to be completed by the middle of next year, will make Colombo Port very efficient and will contribute significantly to the country’s income.

The Minister has also given instructions to complete the procurement of 30 Straddle Carriers to transport containers between the terminal and the jetty.

The Minister also instructed to get recommendations from a suitable technical evaluation committee to get environmentally friendly hybrid type straddle carriers with modern technology instead of the diesel powered straddle carriers that were proposed to be imported.

Accordingly, the work required to start the Eastern container terminal works in the middle of next year is being carried out quickly and there is an optimistic hope among all the employees of the Port Authority.