Minister of Ports, Shipping and Aviation Nimal Siripala de Silva has instructed to expedite the currently halted expansion work at Jaya Container Terminal at the Colombo Port.

The Minister has given these directives, while joining an inspectional visit to the Sri Lanka Port Authority-owned Jaya container Terminal at the Colombo Port yesterday (Dec. 27).

He has also instructed the Ministry’s Secretary to immediately inform the Chinese company entrusted with the work of filling the sea and building the terminal to complete the project on the agreed dates.

Upon completion of the project, Jaya Terminal which is currently 1,260 meters long will be expanded up to 1,380 meters long and will be able to berth two 360-meter-long ships at the same time.

According to the staff of the Colombo Port, around 2 million containers are being handled at the JCT at present and upon completion of the project, they estimate that an additional 1 million containers can be handled within the JCT.

The development activities of the JCT will reportedly cost USD 32 million, which is funded by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority.

According to the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Aviation, the Port of Colombo will be a unique port in South Asia in the next five years following the completion of the Eastern Container Terminal and Jaya Container Terminal.