India’s Concor bids for East Container Terminal

The Container Corporation of India (Concor) has formed a consortium with APM Terminals B.V., John Keells Holdings and Maersk Line to bid for the development of the East Container Terminal in Colombo, the Hindu Business Line reported.

The total project value is likely to be about $ 550-600 million. The inclusion of the Indian partner was made mandatory by the Sri Lankan Government in the latest round of bids that was closed in September in a move that was largely seen by analysts to balance relations between India and China in Sri Lanka’s largest port.  

Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) Chairman Dammika Ranatunga has earlier said the tender could be awarded as early as end October after bids are evaluated.  

In 2008, a new harbour basin, the Colombo South Harbour, was developed to accommodate deep draft vessels and the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) decided to develop four new terminals, each with a capacity of 2.4 million TEU’s (20-foot container equivalent unit - a measure used in container shipping) to cater to increasing demand.

The concession for the first terminal was awarded to China Merchant Holdings in 2012 and became fully operational in 2015 as the Colombo International Container Terminal (CICT).