Memorandum of Cooperation among India, Japan, SL Govt. on development of Colombo South Port

Based upon the discussions held respectively between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Maithripala Sirisena in Delhi on 11 March 2018, and between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President Maithripala Sirisena in Tokyo on 14 March 2018, the Governments of India, Japan and Sri Lanka collectively (‘the three Governments’) confirmed their commitment to cooperate as follows.

The three Governments share the view that it is of great geo-strategic importance for India and Japan to be stakeholders in the operation of the East Container Terminal (hereinafter referred to as ECT) located in the Colombo South Port.

Considering the long-standing goodwill and cooperation among the three Governments, the Government of Sri Lanka invites Indian participants concerned and Japanese participants concerned to take a 49% stake collectively in the Terminal Operations Company (hereinafter referred to as TOC) that will be set up with the exclusive and explicit purpose of providing the equipment and systems necessary for the development of the ECT and managing the ECT for long periods.  The stake of 51% of the TOC belongs to the Government of Sri Lanka under the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA).

The Government of Japan will endeavour to sign the Exchange of Notes to provide the yen loan under highly concessional conditions to the Government of Sri Lanka at the earliest possible date to enable faster capacity expansion at the ECT through the participation of Japanese companies, which could cover payments made by the SLPA prior to the provision of the said loan for quick placement of ship to shore cranes and rubber-tyre gantry cranes. 

The three Governments recognise that the Colombo Port is at almost full capacity and acknowledge the paramount importance of early operation of the ECT.

The three Governments will immediately commence work including necessary study for concrete cooperation under this memorandum, and will hold a joint working group meeting among authorities concerned from the three countries in a timely manner to discuss issues including, but not limited to, those described below:

nDetails of the TOC including terms and conditions of the participation by India participants concerned and Japanese participants concerned as well as the control and operation of the ECT

• Terms and conditions as well as the scope of the yen loan to be provided by the Government of Japan
  
   
• Concrete schedule and steps towards the realisation of early operation of the ECT
  
   
• Terms and conditions of cooperation under this memorandum, including duration of cooperation, modification of this memorandum and resolution of differences in implementation and interpretation of this memorandum

The Memorandum was signed in Colombo on 28 May 2019 in triplicate in the English language by Indian High Commissioner Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Sri Lanka Taranjit Singh Sandhu, Japan Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Sri Lanka Akira Sugiyama, and Sri Lanka Ports and Shipping and Southern Development Minister Sagala Ratnayaka.