In container handling Port of Colombo recorded a 16.2% growth for the 1st quarter 2018 over same quarter last year according to Alphaliner Monthly 2018. Among container Ports worldwide, Colombo Growth rate is second only to Port of Singapore which has recorded 16.5% growth over 2017. It is also a very significant achievement when compared against Port of Colombo 2017 figures with 8.3% growth of 2017 against 2016.
With this growth, Port of Colombo has leaped ahead many other Asian Ports, Major European Ports and Dubai as well.
According to Alphaliner global port rankings the top container ports such as Singapore marked 16.5% ranking number One. Port of Colombo 16.2% number two, Port of Xiamen – (China)-11.6% number three, Antwerp (Belgium) – 10.7% number four and Ningbo – Zhoushan (China)– 10.4% number five.
Recently the three terminal operators at the Port of Colombo; the Jaya Container Terminal (JCT) under SLPA, the South Asia Gateway Terminal (SAGT) and the Colombo International Container Terminal (CICT) reached into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to operate collectively to promote the Port of Colombo. Under the new collective agreement, it is expected to minimize the total turnaround time of all container vessels. Further, through the new agreement, terminals will also be able to promote the Port of Colombo collectively and collaboratively in the arena of international maritime business.
Under the leadership of Hon. Minister of Ports and shipping Mahinda Samarasinghe, and instructions by the Chairman of Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) Dr. Parakrama Dissanayake the positive increase at SLPA controlled terminals and especially the Jaya Container Terminal (JCT) is reasoned towards direct and straight forward decisions .The recognition of credibility towards the management has encouraged the employees of SLPA to dedicatedly contribute towards efficient service along with collaborative support by all parties and stakeholders engaged in the port operations to keep SLPA’s productivity at a steadily and sustainably increasing rate. Creating history, the Port of Colombo for the first time has recorded 6.2 million container operations in year 2017.
The Drewry Port Connectivity Index at its most recent release had ranked the Port of Colombo as the 13th best Connectivity Port in the world for the 4th quarter 2017, up by 05 places from its previous positioning of ranks. According to the rankings the Port of Colombo is also the top best connectivity port in South Asia.
For its dedicated performance to up lift the position of the Port of Colombo in the world maritime map, Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) was awarded the Ports Authority of the Year Award by the Global Ports Forum (GPF) in 2018.
