Sri Lanka Port Authority

Proposed plan of South Port

The Sri Lankan government will call for proposals from the private sector to build a container terminal in a new port being built next to Colombo before the end of January, a senior port official said.

Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) chairman Priyath Bandu Wickrema said the request for proposals (RFP) for the first terminal in the new south port project has been drawn up.

"We have finalized the RFP and we will call for tenders before the end of the month," he said. "We need to finalize the tender and award the contract before November 2009."

The terminal contract was cancelled more than a year ago when the government could not decide between the two main contenders, Port of Singapore Authority (PSA) and Hutchison Port Holdings of Hong Kong.

A cabinet tender board chose PSA Corp but the SLPA preferred HPH.

Wickrema said construction of the breakwater and dredging for the new port was well underway.

The Asian Development Bank has loaned the bulk of the funds for the infrastructure work on condition that the first terminal be built and operated by the private sector.

The SLPA itself intends to build and operate a container terminal in the new port, Wickrema said.

The port project has been delayed for several years and the shipping community in the island has repeatedly expressed concern about further delays in announcing the terminal tender.
(LBO-06012009)