The Hon. Anura Karunathilaka - Minister of Ports and Civil Aviation

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Chairperson, before I come to the three Ministry Heads, let me briefly address a few points. Hon. Rauff Hakeem said nothing has happened on the old Bogambara Prison. In fact, under UDA, Cabinet approval has already been obtained to develop it as a tourist promotion centre; an archaeological valuation report has been called to proceed to RFPs. Once received, we will call RFPs and proceed.

¶ 02 Hon. Marikkar spoke on housing. For 2026, the Rs. 7,200 million is from Virement (Supplementary Estimates) for housing assistance; in addition, the President, in the Budget Speech, allocated another Rs. 3,000 million. It is not merely unspent balances of this year.

¶ 03 Ports and airports are gateways integrating us with global trade networks, enabling efficient import/export and generating foreign income. With the 2026 Budget aiming to move from stabilization to growth, Ports and Airports have a crucial role.

¶ 04 Colombo Port ranked 220th among 370 ports in the 2021 World Bank Container Port Performance Index—first in South Asia and third in the Indian Ocean. Unfortunately, by 2023 we slipped to around 400th. However, in global connectivity we are still 13th. Colombo is critical not only to Sri Lanka but the region and the world.

¶ 05 Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) revenue was Rs. 55,737 million in 2024 and is Rs. 63,119 million so far in 2025—an increase of 13 percent. Profit after tax rose from Rs. 22,688 million in 2024 to Rs. 39,914 million in 2025—up 54 percent. Yet we must analyze revenue sources and identify areas for further growth. Under SLPA are Jaya Container Terminal and the upcoming East Container Terminal (ECT); we must benchmark against other terminals.

¶ 06 We slipped to 40th in global efficiency. Colombo handled 7.78 million TEUs in 2024, up 12.1 percent year-on-year, but capacity is about 8 million; when you near capacity, efficiency issues arise. We must both expand throughput and improve efficiency. ECT works are largely complete; by September next year, operations should commence, adding about 2.5 million TEUs of capacity.

¶ 07 When this Government took over in 2024 under Hon. Bimal Rathnayake and the Deputy Minister, physical progress at the port projects was around 30–35 percent; within about a year it has risen to 65.8 percent. Recently, “MSC China” and “MSC Manasa F”—from the world’s leading liner—called for berthing trials at the second berth. ECT’s berths can accommodate any of the world’s largest ships.

¶ 08 On straddle carriers mentioned by Hon. Marikkar: procurement is underway for 15 out of 30; by September, we expect installation and operations, boosting Colombo Port capacity by 2.5 million TEUs.