October 30, 2012, 8:29 pm
The Island
Seven Board Members of the Asian Development Bank comprising Maurin Sitourus, Ashok K. Lahir, Kazuhiko Koguchi, Jerome Destombes, Richard Edwards, Ms. Khin Khin Lwin and Wilson Kamit visited Colombo Port Expansion Project (CPEP) earlier this week.
CPEP’s harbour infrastructure works entails the construction of the 5.14km long main breakwater, construction of a 1.1km long secondary breakwater, dredging for a two-way access navigational channel and re-routing of the crude oil pipe line.
The CPEP was jointly funded by Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) at a total cost of USD 385 million. The new terminals, scheduled to commence operations during the third quarter of 2013, would be capable of accommodating larger container vessels.
The three container terminals planned here, are scheduled to be completed by 2023, each having 2.4 million TEU capacity. With the completion of the CPEP, the total capacity of the Port of Colombo will be increased up to 12 million TEUs.