The ongoing economic crisis has affected the development work of the East Container Terminal (ECT) at the Colombo Port, with the manufacturing process of three gantry cranes ordered for the terminal commencing in China, following a part payment made by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA), The Sunday Morning learns.
The three gantry cranes, valued at Rs. 254 million, are currently being manufactured and are expected to arrive in the country mid-next year.
When contacted by The Sunday Morning, Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Aviation Secretary K.D.S. Ruwanchandra said that the issues that had prevailed earlier relating to the opening of Letters of Credit (LCs) had now been resolved and payments had been made by the SLPA.
“We make payments on an instalment basis. There are a few payments to be made next year,” Ruwanchandra said, adding that operations were currently underway at ECT with three gantry cranes in use. “We expect the recently-ordered gantry cranes next year and will add them to SLPA operations,” he added.
The ECT, which will be the South Harbour’s second deep draft container terminal and its deepest one, will have an annual capacity of 2.4 million TEUs and a 1,200-metre quay wall at -18 m depth.
At present, 440 m of the quay wall, the adjacent yard area, and connected facilities at ECT have been developed.
According to the SLPA, work on phase II of the ECT development commenced in January this year. The SLPA expects to commission the first 600 m quay in July 2023 and the first 900 m quay in January 2024 and complete the 1,320 m quay in July 2024. Accordingly, the SLPA expects to complete the work on 4 January 2025.
As of now, the Inception Report, Interim Report, Feasibility Study Report, and Governance Model have been completed and the SLPA is expected to complete the preliminary design of the Port Communication System (PCS) this month.