Top Chinese legislator inspects Colombo Port expansion

Chairman and the Party Secretary of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) Wu Bangguo, who was on a visit to Sri Lanka upon invitation by Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa, made a special visit recently at the Colombo Port expansion Project (CPC) of Sri Lanka Ports Authority, accompanied by the delegation led by him.

Colombo Port expansion Project (CPC) commenced on 10 April 2008 with the objective of expanding the existing Hub Port in Colombo with additional harbour basin surrounded by new breakwaters and thereby creating a calm water area to set up container terminals in stages.

The Colombo Port Expansion Project, Harbour Infrastructure works consist construction of 5.14 km long main breakwater, construction of 1.1 km long secondary breakwater, dredging for two way access navigational channel and rerouting of crude oil pipe line. Colombo Port Expansion Project has three container terminals each having 2.4 million TEU capacities and a total capacity of 7.2 million TEUs.

The first terminal of the project the South Container Terminal commenced construction on 16 December 2011. The total cost of the construction is US$ 500 million. The South container terminal construction is expected to be completed by May 2016. The first 600m will be operational by end 2013. Altogether there will be three berths in operation. Within CPC a 400 meter single berth construction for SLPA, namely the East container terminal, is also underway.

According to information by the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Sri Lanka, this is the first time a high-ranking official of the Chinese legislature was visiting Sri Lanka.

Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa, Deputy Minister of Port and Highways Rohitha Abegunawardhane, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China in Sri Lanka Wu Jianghao, Ambassador of Sri Lanka in China Ranjith Uyangoda, Secretary of the Ministry of Port and Highways Ranjith Pemasiri, Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Ports and Highways Anuradha Wijekoon, and Chairman of Sri Lanka Ports Authority Dr. Priyath B. Wickrama were also present at the occasion of this special CPEP port visit of the high-ranking Chinese delegation led by Bangguo.