Tag: Colombo Port

News Update from Colombo Port Sri Lanka

About Colombo Port

Since 1918, the Port of Colombo had been administered by the Colombo Port Commission, a Government Department which was made responsible for the supply and maintenance of cargo-handling equipment and other infrastructure, pilotage services, docking and slipping. The government had funded all its activities. Stevedoring and shore handling activities were in the hands of several private Wharfage Companies. In 1958, the Port Cargo Corporation was set up to take over these activities performed by a multiplicity of operators. The Port Tally and Protective Services Corporation was formed in 1967 in order to perform on-board tallying and watchmen services on behalf of Agents.

The Sri Lanka Ports Authority was constituted under the provisions of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority Act, No. 15 of 1979 (subsequently amended by Act No. 7 of 1984 and Act No. 35 of 1984) on the 1st of August 1979, effecting the merger of the Colombo Port Commission Department and the two existing statutory Corporations. This resulted in a unified organization with a streamlined structure. The Ports Authority does not receive financial allocations from the government but operates on its own revenue and resources.

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The Port of Colombo, located on the south-western shores of the Kelani River in Colombo, is the largest and busiest port in Sri Lanka. Being located in the Indian Ocean, the port serves as an important terminal in Asia and handles most of Sri Lanka’s foreign trade.

It is also used as a naval base by the Sri Lankan Navy Western Fleet. The port features one of the biggest artificial harbours in the world. Annual cargo tonnage of the port is 30.9 million tons.

It is believed that Chinese, Indian and Persian merchants, who came to the country to trade famous spices, were among the first users of the port. The port was first controlled by the Portuguese and then by the Dutch.

The port went into the control of the British in 1796 and consequently witnessed upgrades and conversion into a sheltered harbour.

The port is administered and operated by Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA), which was established in 1979 by an Act of Parliament.

The Port of Colombo has a total land area of 1,200 acres and features three container terminals, namely the Jaya Container Terminal (JCT), South Asia Gateway Terminal (SAGT) and Unity Container Terminal (UCT).

The JCT, which is located at the Main Channel and North Channel entrances, covers 130ha of land area and 70ha of lake water area. The terminal has 1,292m of quay wall and alongside depths between 12 to 15m. It can stack a total of 44,120TEUs of cargo.

The SAGT is spread over 20ha and is served by 940m of berths with alongside depths of 15m. Total stacking capacity of the terminal is 1,620TEUs.

Dredged depth of the UCT varies from 9 to 11m. The container terminal is spread over 1.53ha and can stack up to 8,000TEUs of cargo. Total length of its quay wall is 590m.