Colombo South Harbour - ADB approves financial evaluations
by Lalin Fernandopulle
The technical and financial evaluations for the breakwater and
dredging of the Colombo South Harbour have been completed with Asian
Development Bank (ADB) approving the government evaluations, said ADB
Country Director Richard Vokes.
The contract is to be awarded to Hyundai Engineering Construction Co.
Ltd at a cost of Rs. 36.3 billion.
He said the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) is planning to issue the
letter of acceptance as per the bidding process when Cabinet approval is
obtained.
"The agreement will be signed only after effectiveness conditions are
fully satisfied", Vokes said. The agreement will be signed after the
contractor submits a performance bond.
The financial evaluations for the Container Terminal Component is
nearing completion and the government is expected to issue an invitation
for the negotiation of the Concession Agreement which is an
effectiveness condition to the selected private operator.
Vokes said the government is taking steps to implement the Colombo
South Harbour Development project which will help consolidate the
position of the Colombo Port as a transshipment hub port for the South
Asian region.
The completion of the project will provide sufficient
container-handling capacity and depth for the latest generation mainline
vessels to call at the Colombo Port.
The container handling capacity of each terminal will be 2.4 million
TEUs per year. The Colombo Port including South Asian Gateway Terminal (SAGT)
handled 3.08 million TEUs in 2006.
He said when the three terminals are fully developed they will
provide an additional capacity of 7.2 million TEUs per year. The project
aims to increase transshipment cargo which account for 75 percent of
Colombo Port's handling in 2006.
A substantial quantity of this cargo will generate from the Indian
subcontinent cargo. Without expanding the handling capacity, the Colombo
Port will lose its hub status as shipping lines will divert to other
ports which have an expanded handling capacity", he said.
The ADB is lending a USD 300 million loan on a 25-year term with a
five-year grace period.
[email protected]
|
