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ECT recommences operations : No decision on tripartite MoC

28 Oct 2020

By Maheesha Mudugamuwa Despite the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) recommencing operations of the controversial East Container Terminal (ECT), no final decision has been made by the Government on the Memorandum of Co-operation (MoC) signed between India, Japan, and Sri Lanka, The Morning learnt. It is also learnt that the government-level discussions with India and Japan were still ongoing and a final decision would be made in the future. Nevertheless, the Government has given the green light to begin operations of the ECT to the SLPA on Monday (26). Accordingly, the SLPA has immediately begun the operations a day after it got approval, it is further learnt. SLPA Chairman General Daya Ratnayake told The Morning that the ECT was well equipped to handle operations at present. “The SLPA launched the operations soon after it got the approval for the request made by the authority,” he said, adding that the ECT was abandoned during the previous Government, as well as the Jaya Container Terminal (JCT); since the construction of the JCT was not completed, the cranes ordered for the JCT were placed at the ECT. “We got other required equipment and now there is enough equipment for the terminal operation,” he said. The operation work of the ECT has been delayed during the last five years and in 2015, the cranes ordered for the ECT had been cancelled and attempts had been made to hand over the operations to India and Japan, he said. “We informed the Government that the SLPA wants the ECT to expand its capacity and we received approval from the Government. As of now, the terminal is operating,” the Chairman noted. The inauguration ceremony was held on Tuesday (27) under the patronage of Minister of Port and Shipping Rohitha Abeygunawardena. State Minister of Warehouse Facilities, Container Yards, Port Supply Facilities, and Boats and Shipping Industry Development Jayantha Samaraweera and SLPA Chairman Daya Ratnayake were also present. The arrival of the first container carrier to the ECT at the Port of Colombo marks another milestone in the unfinished journey of making the Sri Lankan port system the maritime hub of Asia. Accordingly, the MSC EMMA, the first container ship to sail from the African continent to China, arrived at the ECT for its container operations. Although the construction of the 450-metre terminal was completed in 2015 as the first phase of the project, operations did not commence for five years at the ECT and operations using cranes for the JCT began recently. As the second phase of the project, a new terminal with an extension of another 600 metres is planned to be constructed in the near future. In parallel, construction work on the fifth phase of the JCT is scheduled to begin soon.  

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