Hon. Minister of Ports and Shipping Rohitha Abeygunawardena made his first port inspection visit on 25th August 2020 after assuming duties.
He also attended a special meeting for the Heads of Divisions of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) at the SLPA Chairman’s Office. Following the meeting Hon.Minister inspected the East Container Terminal (ECT), the Jaya Container Terminal (JCT) and the Pilot station at the Port of Colombo.
Speaking at this special inspection visit, Hon. Minister emphasized the period of His Excellency the President Mahinda Rajapaksa as the country’s Golden era of the Ports and Shipping Industry in recent times. “The role played by the former President Mahinda Rajapaksa also as the then Minister in charge of Ports and Shipping was immense,” he said.
Hon.Minister said that during that time he had the opportunity to serve as the Deputy Minister of Ports and Shipping and was able to bring Port of Hambantota, the East Container Terminal (ECT) and also the Colombo Port City into port assets. He said that such a golden era was fallen into a pathetically unfortunate situation for Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA), after the previous good governance government came to power.
Commenting further, Hon.Minister said that His Excellency the President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had emphasized that his objective was to make progress of the ports and shipping industry sustainable ending the dark period and transform it into a brighter era through the vision of prosperity.
He said that as the Minister in charge of Ports and Shipping, collective decisions would be taken in discussions with all related parties to take necessary steps to upgrade the Jaya Container Terminal (JCT), expedite operations of the East Container Terminal (ECT) and establish an efficient and productive service in all sectors and related services.
Secretary to the Ministry of Ports and Shipping – Mr.U.D.C.Jayalal, Chairman of Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) – General Daya Ratnayake, Vice Chairman / Managing Director of SLPA – Mr.W.S.Weeraman, Additional Managing Director of SLPA – Mr. Upali de Zoysa, Director (Technical) – Mr.Susantha Abesiriwardana, Director (Operations) – Mr.Jayantha Perera, Directors and Heads of Divisions of SLPA and trade union representatives of SLPA also joined the occasion.
Featured image: Hon. Minister of Ports and Shipping Rohitha Abeygunawardena making his first port inspection visit. Secretary to the Ministry of Ports and Shipping – Mr.U.D.C.Jayalal, Chairman of Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) – General Daya Ratnayake, Vice Chairman / Managing Director of SLPA – Mr.W.S.Weeraman, Additional Managing Director of SLPA – Mr. Upali de Zoysa Director (Technical) – Mr.Susantha Abesiriwardana and Director (Operations) – Mr.Jayantha Perera are also present.
