Fifth phase of Sri Lankan terminal begins

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Construction has begun on the fifth phase of a container terminal at a Sri Lankan port.

Phase 5 of the construction of the Jaya Container Terminal has begun Photo: SLPA

Development of the Jaya Container Terminal at the Port of Colombo began in March 1983. The first phase of the terminal opened in 1985, the second in 1987, the third in 1995 and the fourth in 1996.

The chair of Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA), General Daya Ratnayake, said that "the golden era of the ports and shipping industry in Sri Lanka which existed from 2005 to 2015 would recommence with the implementation of construction of phase five of the SLPA’s Jaya Container Terminal".

The latest phase began on 1 December and is scheduled to be completed by July 2022. The project, totalling US$32m, will bring a number of benefits to the operations of SLPA and the Port of Colombo, namely by adding an additional 120m in anchorage facilities. A new yard area of 40,000sqm will also be added.

The terminal’s development has not been without controversy. “Although the construction of phase five of the terminal was supposed to be completed first, the previous government had stopped the constructions by giving priority to the import of Gantry cranes,” said the Hon. Rohitha Abeygunawardena, Minister of Ports and Shipping. “However, the construction of phase five of the terminal has [now] commenced due to the arrival of the imported cranes,” he added.