Colombo port transshipment volumes up 19.8% in first half
Establishing a record in transshipment operations, the Port of Colombo has witnessed the highest growth of 19.8 percent in transshipment container throughput for the first half of 2018, as against the corresponding period in 2017.
According to the Sri Lanka Port Authority (SLPA), during the first half of 2018, the Port of Colombo handled 2,733,906 TEUS of transshipment containers, as against 2,281,636 TEUS handled in the corresponding period in 2017.
The state-owned Jaya Container Terminal (JCT) of the SLPA also witnessed the highest growth of 20.6 percent in transshipment container throughput for the first half in 2018, as against the corresponding period in 2017.
During the first half of 2018, the transshipment volume handled by JCT reached 935,848 TEUS compared to 776,002 TEUS handled for the same period in 2017.
The Port of Colombo expects to reach the seven million TEU target by the end of this year. In a recent statement, Ports and Shipping Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe said that he would take new initiatives forward to promote the Port of Colombo internationally, together with all stakeholders and to attract more new shipping lines that work in alliances. The SLPA has signed a memorandum of understanding with the terminals of the Port of Colombo that include JCT, South Asia Gateway Terminals and Colombo International Container Terminals to operate collectively to promote the Port of Colombo.
Expressing his view, SLPA Chairman Dr. Parakrama Dissanayake said that the terminals would compete with each other but would also co-operate with each other moving between competition and co-operation.
“On the Asia to Europe sector, there are 17 loops of which only three are calling Colombo.
Therefore, obviously, we have got challenges to ensure that collectively we should attract more loops into the Port of Colombo.
This means, we have to go beyond the partisan approach of promoting our terminals to protect the Port of Colombo,” Dissanayake said.
According to internationally recognized global ranking indexes, the Port of Colombo is positioned as the world’s 23rd best container port and the 13th best connectivity port.
Following Samarasinghe assuming office as the Ports and Shipping Minister, an exclusive three-year plan was introduced to develop the entire port sector to establish Sri Lanka as the most preferred maritime gateway to South Asia.