SLPA seeks Govt. directive on Port City

Wednesday, 5 October 2016 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Authority not part of Port City negotiations
Concerns over agreements to be presented in Cabinet paper
SLPA Chief says priority must be given to Port operations

By Charumini de Silva

Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) will present a Cabinet paper seeking clear Government directives on a number of concerns arising from both the original and current agreement of the Colombo Port City project, which had been signed without consulting the SLPA.

“There are some commercial concerns that we have with the original agreement and what is presented today. We have mentioned these concerns at different forums, but we want to do it with a Cabinet paper,” SLPA Chairman Dhammika Ranatunga told the Daily FT.

According to Dhammika three key concerns focused on movement of ships in the Colombo Port, security with building a separate breakwater as part of the Port City and insurance.

Ranatunga stressed vessel movements have to be monitored carefully or they would affect the flow of container operations at Colombo Port. A disruption of vessel movement would also impact on SLPA’s customer base.

“Priority has to be given to Port operations because we keep a relationship with the shipping lines and have our businesses growing. That cannot be hampered,” he added.

The Chairman said that they wish to discuss these issues with Ports and Shipping Minister Arjuna Ranatunga, who incidentally also his brother, and Ministry Secretary L. P. Jayampathy this week for further recommendations.

“There are a lot of things going on at this point of time. We need these clearly outlined. We have identified key issues, but we need a Government directive because we were not part of those early negotiations. We have to look into all these factors and work out a formula,” he said.

Ranatunga said the Government needs to know the concerns of the SLPA and move to address them quickly.

Pic by Lasantha Kumara