The Cabinet of Ministers has approved a proposal made by Ports and Shipping Minister to develop the West Container Terminal (WCT) of the Colombo Port on a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis for a period of 35 years as a public- private partnership with Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ Consortium) and its local representative John Keells Holding PLC (APSEZ Consortium) and the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA).
In line with this decision, Cabinet approval has been granted to develop the WCT of the Colombo South Port as a public-private partnership in collaboration with the SLPA and parties nominated by Indian and Japanese Governments and also to appoint a negotiations Committee and a project committee to evaluate the proposals in this regard. Accordingly, the BOT plan approved by the Negotiating Committee has been forwarded to the High Commission of India and the Embassy of Japan requesting them to nominate investors.
The proposal presented by Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd has been approved by the Indian High Commission.
No investor has been named by the Japanese government so far.
The Government had called on the Japanese Government to collaborate in the development project.
The Cabinet appointed Negotiating Committee has presented its recommendations based on the discussions held between the two parties.
Earlier, based on several factors, the Government decided to develop the East Container Terminal (ECT) of the Colombo Port through the SLPA instead of the proposed tie-up with Indian and Japanese investors, who were to get a 49% share of the project while the SLPA held 51%.
It will now be a 100% SLPA venture.
Colombo Port is ranked among the top 25 Ports in the world but is hampered by lack of capacity. The twin ECT-WCT projects will enable it to accommodate bigger ships and increase shipment volumes.
