The Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China in Sri Lanka Wu Jianghao made a courtesy visit at the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) recently. The Ambassador was received by Dr. Priyath B. Wickrama - Chairman of the SLPA. The ambassador also made a special inspection tour at the ongoing Colombo Port Expansion Project (CPEP).



Under the Colombo Port Expansion Project, the Colombo Port is being developed to cope with the increased demand for container throughput at the Colombo harbour. The Colombo South Container Terminal being developed at the CPEP at present, aims further promote economic growth with improved competitiveness of the Colombo Port by lowering transport costs and reducing delivery time. The expected annual throughput capacity of the South Container Terminal would be 2.4 million TEUs that would enable Sri Lanka to generate additional foreign currency income from transshipments.

On August 12, 2011, in Shenzhen, China, Colombo International Container Terminals Ltd. (CICT), a company incorporated in Sri Lanka, entered into a Build, Operate, Transfer (BOT) agreement with the Sri Lanka Ports Authority, for a period of 35 years. Recognizing this project as a strategic development project of national importance under the Strategic Deployment Act, the Board of Investment entered into an agreement with CICT on September 22, 2011.  The construction of the Colombo South Container Terminal of the CPEP was inaugurated by President Mahinda Rajapaksa on December 16, 2011. The envisaged investment of US$ 500 million for CSCT is so far the largest direct foreign investment in Sri Lanka by a private entity.