West Container Terminal to be developed under joint venture

COLOMBO (News1st): The government has proposed a project involving a joint venture to develop the West Container Terminal (WCT) of the Colombo. This was after suspending an investment project surrounding the East Container Terminal (ECT). A proposal had been put forward before the cabinet to develop and operate the WCT under a public-private-partnership for 35 years involving the Sri Lanka Ports Authority and two entities named by India and Japan. According to the cabinet proposal submitted by ports and shipping minister Rohitha Abeygunawardana on the 31st of January, the ECT and the WCT must be operating parallelly by 2023 to generate revenue for the Colombo Port in line with the national policy surrounding ports. Accordingly, the WCT is expected to be developed across a land area of 64 hectares. Under the long-term plan of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority, another special project is due to take place near the WCT. The proposed project involves the installation of two mounted LNG storage facilities on the WCT. The basic policies for the future promotion of Liquefied Natural Gas as a fuel in the country have already been formulated in the country. Accordingly, the supply of LNG may create profit-generating opportunities in the country. But the Indian Express newspaper reported that India has not yet made a decision on the Colombo Port's WCT that provides up to 85 percent of investment opportunities instead of the ECT.