Port of Colombo Container Volumes up by 9.1% in April 2019

The Port of Colombo Container Volumes recorded an increase in the month of April 2019 by 9.1% compared to the same period last year.  Port of Colombo comprising of Jaya Container Terminal (JCT), South Asia Gateway Terminal (SAGT) and the Colombo International Container Terminal (CICT), has seen a cumulative volume growth of 5.9% for the period January thru April 2019.

The Transshipments Volumes at the Port for same period has marked an increase of 8.6% and the transshipment volumes at the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) controlled terminals has increased by 10.5%.

The Port of Colombo was ranked the world’s No. 01 container growth port among the top 30 container ports for the year of 2018 in container handling. It recorded a 13.5% growth for the year 2018 and moved up to a position of #22up one position over the previous year, amongst global container ports, according to AlphaLiner Monthly. The latest release of Drewry Port Connectivity Index also ranked the Port of Colombo as the 11th best Connectivity Port in the world for 2018.

While commending the consistent growth in numbers, Minister of Ports and Shipping Sagala Ratnayaka said the SLPA has also focused on fast-tracking strategic decisions pertaining to the expansion of the Colombo Port’s capacity. “Only such decisions,” the Minister said, “would ensure that our growth is sustainable. The key focus of the SLPA at this point in time is to expedite processes relating to the expansion of the Colombo Port.” Elaborating further the Minister recognized the Team at SLPA and the wider Port Community for the good work done but reinforced the need for automation and process efficiencies that would make Colombo even more successful in the future.

Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) won the Ports Authority of the Year 2019 Award by the Global Ports Forum (GPF) for the second consecutive year at the GPF awards ceremony 2019.