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Proposed cargo bay in Colombo Port: Minister refutes TU claim

18 Sep 2021

By Yoshitha Perera Minister of Ports and Shipping Rohitha Abeygunawardena yesterday (18) dismissed trade union (TU) allegations that a property belonging to the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) will be leased for Rs. 800,000 per month to a Chinese company. Speaking to The Sunday Morning, Abeygunawardena rejected the allegation and stated that the Colombo Port, with its five existing terminals and three proposed terminals, would become Asia’s most powerful harbour in the future. “This will be achieved through a public-private partnership (PPP) project spanning 35 years, after which it will be 100% owned by the State,” the Minister said. Trade unions representing the energy, petroleum, and ports sectors had sent a letter to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa last week requesting the withdrawal of the cabinet paper on leasing 13 acres of land at the Colombo Port to a Chinese company. The trade unions had also called on the Government to immediately suspend any attempt to sell state resources to other countries. Addressing a media briefing last Tuesday (14), Ceylon Electricity Board Employees’ Union (CEBEU) Convenor Ranjan Jayalal alleged that the Government was moving towards a process of handing out all state resources to various firms in foreign nations. In July this year, the Cabinet approved a proposal submitted by Minister Abeygunawardena for the Chinese-controlled Colombo International Container Terminals Ltd. (CICT) to establish a cargo service supply centre on a plot of land of 5.3 hectares (ha) that was adjoining South Asia Gateway Terminals (SAGT) and surrounded by the Colombo Port City, CICT, and the East Container Terminal (ECT). Ports trade unions opposed the move, claiming it could cause a loss of nearly Rs. 2.8 billion annually, and said the SLPA would not be the sole authority supplying cargo services for all terminals once CICT started operating the cargo service supply centre.


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