• Nearly $ 290 m for ECT development 
• Funds absorbed by Treasury: Port TUs
• ‘SLPA monies are in respective accounts’
• Monies not physically in account: Ministry

By Maheesha Mudugamuwa    Port trade unions last week claimed that nearly $ 290 million in Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) funds earmarked for the development of the East Container Terminal (ECT) have been used by the then Finance Minister to plug gaps in forex reserves, leaving the State-owned terminal unable to proceed with the project. The approved Indo-Japanese project was halted following a controversial about-turn by the Gotabaya Rajapaksa Government in 2021 and assigned to the SLPA. Speaking to The Sunday Morning, Sri Lanka Nidahas Sevaka Sangamaya (SLNSS) President Prasanna Kalutharage charged that the funds which had been earmarked for the stage-by-stage development of the ECT under the SLPA had been absorbed by the Treasury following a decision by the then Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa in an attempt to source dollars for critical imports. “The then Minister of Ports and several officials tried to bypass the stage-by-stage building plan that was in place and placed orders for the full range of equipment, including 12 gantry cranes, 40 Rubber-Tyred Gantry (RTG) cranes, and 40 stackers from a Chinese firm in one go. The funds were then kept as a bank bond for the import of the equipment. However, when the forex shortage came about, former Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa ordered the funds to be used to fill the dollar shortage. This is how this country lost the opportunity to have the ECT built, at least in stages,” Kalutharage charged.   However, when contacted, the Ports, Shipping, and Aviation Ministry denied any misappropriation or corruption involved with the funds deposited in SLPA accounts at State banks. Responding to the concerns raised about what had become of the funds belonging to the SLPA, Ministry Secretary K.D.S. Ruwanchandra clarified that the SLPA’s money was in the accounts of the respective banks, but it was not physically in the accounts due to the prevailing dollar shortage in the country. Like all other State institutions, the SLPA too is facing a similar situation, he said. Former SLPA Chairman Gen. (Retd) Daya Ratnayake told The Sunday Morning that there was some money in the SLPA bank accounts, which he did not recall the details of, and that the SLPA had begun ordering equipment for the ECT on part-by-part payment basis.  Ratnayake claimed that at the time of his departure from the SLPA, the money had been in the banks. He however said that due to the present economic situation in the country, even though the institutions had money in the accounts, that money could not be withdrawn as the banks did not have dollars.   Attempts made to contact former Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa, Minister of Ports Nimal Siripala de Silva, and SLPA Managing Director Upul Jayatissa for comment proved futile.