The Port of Colombo crossed the 6M TEU mark on 22 December, a 4.6% increase on container traffic in 2016.
The Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) held a ceremony at its Jaya Container Terminal (JCT) to celebrate crossing the 6M TEU mark, with the Minister of Ports and Shipping Mahinda Samarasinghe attending as the chief guest of the event.
The Minister noted the milestone was achieved by collaboration between the public and private sectors. “Deviating from the traditional competition, Sri Lanka Ports Authority controlled Jaya Container Terminal, privately owned SAGT and CICT together have proven of a success story we can continue to make the Port of Colombo the hub port in the region,” the Minister said.
SLPA Chairman Dr.Parakrama Dissanayake said that the port’s three container terminals plus the new East Terminal must continue to work on marketing Colombo collectively. “We have to be mindful of the marketing challenges we are expected to face. The commencement of operations of the East Terminal of the Colombo South Harbour in near future will see further increased efficiency in the Port of Colombo to attract more ships at its deep draft berths,” Dr.Dissanayake added.
Colombo started handling containers in 1973. JCT opened in 1985, and handled 1M TEU in 1995. SAGT, developed by the then P&O Ports, was opened in 1999. CICT (Colombo International Container Terminal, which was developed with China Merchants), started operations in 2013.
While Colombo crossed the 6M TEU mark in 2017, throughput growth was around 4.6%. This is well down on the 10.7% increase in throughput in 2016, which took throughput to 5.7M TEU. CICT is the fastest growing of the port’s container terminals. Its volume grew 28% in 2016 to 2M TEU.
