The Hon. Janitha Ruwan Kodithuwakku

¶ 01 Thank you, Hon. Deputy Chair.

¶ 02 Continuing on ECT: the quay wall is completed; 10 of 20 yard lanes are done, with the remainder about 70 percent complete. We expect full yard and quay integration to go live by month-end. A recurring issue is straddle carriers: due to irregularities, we cancelled the earlier procurement and restarted it; it is now about 95 percent complete. To avoid delay, we will initially operate using trucks, with only a small efficiency loss, offset by increasing active lanes.

¶ 03 About 85 percent of Colombo’s throughput is transshipment; only about 15 percent is domestic imports/exports. Mismanagement of that 15 percent causes yard-side congestion, impacting waterfront operations. We must improve both waterfront and landside processes. With economic stabilization, TEUs rose from 1.1 to 1.3 million domestically, and general cargo grew by 30 percent last year. Daily, 1,500–2,000 containers exit the port and are processed at importer premises and then released — a flow managed by container depot operators. Currently this is inefficient and weakly regulated. Shipping lines complain of missing containers and poor tracking. Prime movers get trapped due to yard inefficiencies. We have about 26 depots. The Bill empowers the Director-General of Merchant Shipping to regulate pricing and ensure viability since yard tariffs are currently suppressed by shipping lines’ bargaining power. We will set minimum tariffs and standards, improve yard infrastructure, and ensure depots are distributed within about a 20 km radius to support operations.

¶ 04 We are also coordinating the elevated highway ramp over the port: by end-March we plan to open the ramp-down to move green-channel boxes directly to inspection facilities, easing in-port circulation.

¶ 05 Private yards operate outside; hence regulation is essential. This Bill provides for licensing, service standards, and price oversight to sustain operations as import/export volumes grow.

¶ 06 Thank you.