The Hindu Business Line : Sri Lanka plans Colombo port expansion

A $4-billion expansion of the Colombo port is to be proposed by the Sri Lanka Export Development Board. Planned to the south of the Colombo port, the project includes construction of 12 new berths, mainly for containers, and a breakwater. The Colombo port currently has 13 berths.

The project would be taken up jointly with the private sector, the board's Chairman, Mr Ratna Sivaratnam, said. The board would submit its report by February-end, while a decision to expand the port had been taken by the Sri Lankan Government, he added.

Speaking at an interactive session organised by the Southern India Chamber of Commerce and Industry here on Tuesday, Mr Sivaratnam said the expansion was necessitated as Colombo port had reached a saturation level in container handing.

The port's annual handling is about 3 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) and the expansion could take the capacity to handle about 8 million TEUs by 2020, he said.

The expansion was planned about five years ago, but could not be taken up due to lack of finance. Due to the delay, Dubai, Singapore and Malaysia ports have taken away Indian transhipment containers from Colombo port. Expansion is the only way to get back the lost cargo, he said. Ten private players, including Indian companies, have shown interest in the project, he added.

According to Mr Sivaratnam, Bharat Petroleum, the Tata Group and Ceat are looking at the possibility of setting up facilities in Sri Lanka, which can be used as an export base.