The Sri Lanka Ports Authority announced the government’s green light, concerning the order for three-to-shore cranes for the Jaya Container Terminal (JCT) in Colombo. The new cranes, that costed approximately US$25 million, will be an important step for the JCT 5 expansion project.
Mainly, in 2018, the port of Colombo saw a US$70 million investment, approved by the Sri Lankan Government, coming with new, high-tech equipment.
Sagala Ratnayaka, the Minister of Ports & Shipping and Southern Development in Sri Lanka’s Cabinet of Ministers commented that the Authority will continue to listen and improve the port, following the market conditions.
In the meantime, the STS crane order reflects the steps the port takes in light of an expansion program for growing demand from their customers.
The Minister also acknowledged that the new cranes and wider expansion will be crucial for the Colombo Port to compete across the region.
The port must attract greater transhipment cargo volume if it is to generate greater foreign exchange earnings
… Minister Ratnayaka highlighted.
He concluded reporting that in order to achieve a greater transhipment volume, the port should be more attractive to all neighbouring ports, not only financially, but also in terms of efficiency and ease of doing business.
In the meantime, Port of Colombo is taking steps to a more digitalized future, as in February the port authority announced that it will upgrade its entire IT infrastructure as part of its smart port transformation.
