Port of Colombo
Port of Colombo | |
---|---|
Location | |
Country | Sri Lanka |
Location | Colombo |
Coordinates | 06°57′10″N 79°50′41″E / 6.95278°N 79.84472°E |
UN/LOCODE | LKCMB[1] |
Details | |
Opened | Ancient |
Owned by | Government of Sri Lanka |
Type of harbour | Seaport |
Land area | 4.8 km2 (1,200 acres) |
Size | Large |
No. of berths | 51 |
No. of piers | 27 |
Vision | Logistic Excellence in the Silk Route |
Statistics | |
Annual cargo tonnage | 72.9 million (2019)[citation needed] |
Annual container volume | 7.25 million (2021) [2] TEUs |
Website http://www.slpa.lk/ |
The Port of Colombo
Currently with a capacity of 7 million
History
Early history
The Port of Colombo was known to
Medieval history
Among the users of the port,
In order to protect their interests in coastal India, the Portuguese knew that controlling the island was vital, and thereby took advantage of royal rivalries between the Kingdoms. However, when the King of Sitawaka, Mayadunne, invaded the Kotte Kingdom and forced the Portuguese into retreat they retreated into the Port of Colombo, besieging the city many times. When the Kotte kingdom fell to the Kingdom of Sitawaka, the Portuguese were able to control the entire coast, making the Port of Colombo their capital. That area of the city is still called "Fort".[4]
In 1638 the
British Ceylon and independence
The Port of Colombo fell to the
In 1865, the Municipal Council was created by the British in the Port of Colombo in an effort to teach the local population self-governance. The Colombo Municipal Council was practically the Legislative Council of Ceylon, meeting for the first time in 1866. In 1912, the Port was converted into a sheltered harbour, and the Colombo Port Commission was established in 1913. Much of the city was planned during the British occupation of the Port of Colombo.[4]
The Port saw dramatic changes when the country gained its independence in 1948. The Queen Elizabeth Quay was opened in 1954, while 16 alongside berths, transit sheds and warehouses were completed. In 1958 The Port Corporation was founded. Sri Lanka's economy began to improve, even though it had influences of Portuguese, Dutch and British cultures while its own had been repressed.[4]
1980 to 2000
The Sri Lanka Ports Authority was created in 1980. The harbour underwent a major transformation to handle
2000 to present
A third berth at Galle Regional Port was started in 2000, while the Peliyagoda Container Freight Station was opened. The second phase of the North Pier development started, and the port opened a one-stop documentation center opened its doors. In 2002, the multi-purpose Ashraff Quay was inaugurated, while the new Customer Service Center for LCL and breakbulk cargoes was opened in the same year. 2003 saw the Unity Container Terminal and the
Terminals
Terminal | Main Stake Holder | Berths | Status | Notes[10] |
---|---|---|---|---|
Jaya Container Terminal | Sri Lanka Ports Authority | 4 Container Main Berths & 2 Feeder Berths | Operational | Wholly owned by SLPA |
Unity Container Terminal | Sri Lanka Ports Authority | 2 Container Berths | Operational | Wholly owned by SLPA |
South Asia Gateway Terminals | John Keells Holdings | 3 Container Berths | Operational | Other stake holders consists of Evergreen Group and APM Terminals[11] |
Colombo International Container Terminals | China Merchants Port | 4 Container Berths | Operational | Deep water terminal |
Colombo East Container Terminal | Sri Lanka Ports Authority | Under Construction | Wholly owned by SLPA | |
Colombo West Container Terminal | Adani Ports & SEZ | Under Construction | 20 meters deep annual capacity of 3.2 million container terminal. Adani and John Keells owned 85% stakes in 35-year build-operate-transfer deal.[12] |
Sri Lanka Ports Authority owns 15% stakes each in SAGT and CICT and proposed West Container Terminal.[13]
Expansion
In 2008, the port commenced a large-scale expansion project at a cost of
The expansion project consisted of four new terminals that are 1,200 m (3,900 ft) in length and can accommodate three berths each, alongside a depth of 18 m (59 ft) (which can be deepened to 23 m (75 ft)). The channel width of the harbour is to be 560 m (1,840 ft) and depth of 20 m (66 ft), with harbour basin depth of 18 m (59 ft) and a 600 m (2,000 ft) turning circle. It increases the annual container handling capacity from four million TEUs to approximately twelve million TEUs. It is also able to accommodate larger container vessels, carrying around 22,000 TEUs.
The first terminal was awarded to the
Colombo South Container Terminal CICT
The 2.4 million TEU capacity Colombo South Container Terminal, the first terminal under new expansion in the Port of Colombo is built by Colombo International Container Terminals Ltd., (CICT), a joint venture company between China Merchants Holdings (International) Co., Ltd. (CMHI) and the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA). It is developing the new port under a 35-year build, operate, and transfer agreement with the SLPA.
Commenced construction in December 2011, the first "pace" was ceremonially opened for traffic on 8 August 2013, making the Colombo Port complex one of the biggest in the world.
The total length of the new breakwater is 6,830 m (22,410 ft), with a berth depth of 18 m (59 ft).
Colombo West Container Terminal WCT
In 2021, Adani Ports & SEZ together with local partners John Keells Holdings and the Sri Lanka Port Authority signed a $700 million 35-year build-operate-transfer (BOT) agreement for West Container Terminal. In 2023 U.S. International Development Finance Corporation provided $553m in funding for the Adani-led project. West Container Terminal WCT is expected to become operational in 2025.[16]
Port facilities
The Colombo Port currently has three container terminals: Jaya Container Terminal (JCT), South Asia Gateway Terminals (SAGT - operated by John Keells Holdings) and Unity Container Terminal (UCT). These terminals operate round the clock for faster turn around time than any other operator in the region. Port facilities include:
- 04 Feeder berths
- 07 Container berths
- 14 Quay cranes
- 12 Super-Post Panamax cranes
- 02 Twin lift Super-Post Panamax crane[7]
- 04 Wall-mounted gantries
- 78 Rubber-tyred gantries[7]
- 285
Now with the expansion of the Colombo South Harbour project CICT(Colombo International Container Terminal) was established and 12 quay cranes were added.
Additional facilities include the Bandaranaike Quay (BQ) and Prince Vijaya Quay (PVQ) with four rail-mounted quay cranes, and 6,245 m2 (67,221 sq ft) of bonded warehouses.[17]
See also
- Buddha Jayanthi Chaithya
- Colombo Port City
- Hambantota Port
References
- ^ "UNLOCODE (LK) - SRI LANKA". service.unece.org. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
- ^ "Colombo Port ranked world's 22nd after 6 PCT growth in 2021-Xinhua".
- ^ Port of Colombo Archived 28 December 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Port of Colombo". Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
- ^ Colombo Port records highest cargo throughput in 2008 Archived 5 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Sri Lanka port lures Emirates Shipping Line". Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
- ^ a b c d "First ever twin-lift ship delivered". Archived from the original on 24 May 2010. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
- ^ a b Colombo South Harbour Development Project Archived 29 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Mahinda Rajapaksa responds". www.ft.lk. Wijeya Newspapers Ltd. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
- ^ "TERMINALS". slpa.lk. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
- ^ "South Asia Gateway Terminals Engages with Navis Optimization and Analytics Services to Further Scale, Improve and Automate Operations". www.businesswire.com. 9 April 2019. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
- ^ "Adani Group to firm up Colombo Port deal Today". adaderana.com. 30 September 2021. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
- ^ "Sri Lanka scraps deal to jointly develop East Container Terminal with India and Japan". container-mag.com. 5 February 2021. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
- ^ Sri Lanka Aitken Spence-China Merchant consortium gets terminal deal Archived 4 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine LBO, 2010-09-16
- ^ New Colombo port terminal on stream soon Archived 26 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine Sunday Times, 2010-09-19
- ^ "US to fund $553m deep-sea terminal in Sri Lanka".
- ^ "History and fact about the Port of Colombo". Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 15 December 2009.