ADB awaits green light to go ahead with West Terminal

by Lalin Fernandopulle

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is awaiting the decision of the government to commence negotiations to construct the West Terminal of the Colombo South Harbour, said Country Director (ADB), Richard Vokes.

He said the ADB loan for the breakwater will be effective after the government invites parties to negotiate on the Concession Agreement for the West Terminal.

The bank approved the awarding of the contract for the construction of the breakwater to Hyundai as the lowest cost responsive bidder.

The ADB granted a loan of US$ 300 million to construct the breakwater of the Colombo South Harbour expansion project.

"The bank has extended its support to develop infrastructure facilities in countries in the South Asian region since it was set up in 1966. The Colombo Port expansion is an urgent need to retain Sri Lanka's hub status and develop the port sector", Vokes said.

The Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) has been collaborating with the bank to ensure that the project gets off the ground without delay and gain maximum benefits from the status of the Colombo Port in the region.

Former Chairman of the Sri Lanka Shippers' Council Jayanath Perera said the progress on the port expansion project is satisfactory and the Council is confident that the project will be completed before the industry feels the pressure of getting behind the scheduled time-frame.

The new larger vessels of around 12,000 to 16,000 TEUs will call at the Colombo Port within a few years.

The port should be ready to accommodate larger vessels if we are to retain the hub status in the region.

"Sri Lanka will be a feeder port catering to smaller vessels with a capacity of around 8,000 TEUs. Since Sri Lanka is not an export-oriented country as China and India the need to expand and improve the facilities was not a priority", Perera said.

He said the space crunch crisis of the far East West bound freight has eased to a great extent due to the reduction of the cargo volume from China.