The Hon. Janitha Ruwan Kodithuwakku - Deputy Minister of Ports and Civil Aviation

¶ 01 Thank you for the opportunity, Hon. Presiding Member.

¶ 02 First, I will address a few issues raised today. Questions were asked about the Embarkation Levy—how we intend to resume collection. This matter arose previously as well. At that time, we needed certain amendments to the Finance Act. We have now obtained concurrence from the Attorney-General’s Department. Before proceeding with legal steps, we engaged with all the companies and, as of now, all of them have given us payment plans and are following them.

¶ 03 Hon. Karunanayake asked whether we can use Ratmalana Airport. Yes, we can. We are in discussions. There is a no-fly zone with a one nautical mile radius over the Akuregoda Defence Headquarters and the Parliamentary Complex. We are discussing with the Ministry of Defence to reduce it to half a nautical mile and open a small gliding path/channel. If we can achieve that, we can open Ratmalana Airport for private operations. We also know that alone is not sufficient; we must add an Instrument Landing System (ILS). Without ILS, we cannot conduct night-time operations. That is the position regarding Ratmalana.

¶ 04 Hon. Namal Rajapaksa spoke about Mattala Airport, alleging paddy storage and jungle encroachment. We do not store paddy there; the scrub has been cleared. The outer and inner perimeters, estimated at Rs. 400 million, have been constructed. However, we still exert significant effort to attract airlines. The issue is not paddy storage nor scrubland. It is an airport built in an unsuitable location without a proper feasibility study, and without assessing crosswinds.

¶ 05 He also said Terminal 2 was delayed due to a roofing issue. In fact, it was not a roofing problem; it was due to a matter where a contractor had requested a commission and the donor had withdrawn.

¶ 06 Hon. Ravi Karunanayake referred to vessels bypassing the port. Last year, seven ships bypassed the port, all bound to CICT. They were diverted due to temporary issues at that terminal, not because of our problems, and not due to congestion. However, we cannot say we have no challenges. We conduct business according to existing capacity. Yet, given the regional volume, we have struggled to scale our business. While it was said we have no strategic plan, in truth we do: a Master Plan up to 2050, revised every five years.

¶ 07 Our challenge is ensuring infrastructure grows in line with the Master Plan. For example, many raised concerns about ECT—whether it is delayed and cannot be completed now. The ECT project started on 4 January 2022 with a three-year contract, requiring full operations by 3 January 2025. It has two main components: quay wall construction and yard construction. When we took over, after three years, physical progress stood at 55% for the quay wall and 31% for the yard. At that pace, completion would have slipped to 2029. Due to intervention by our officials and the Ministry, this year we increased progress to 90% on the quay wall and 77% on the yard. We set a milestone to operate at 50% capacity, and by last month we were able to berth a second large vessel. We can now berth two large ships of about 350 metres each on the quay wall. Yard construction has reached 50%, and ARMGs are under testing.

¶ 08 Questions were also raised about straddle carriers. Yes, there was a problem. The tender was cancelled, not for the first time—the procurement process began in 2021 and was repeatedly cancelled for various reasons. When we arrived, due to lack of clarity, we had to cancel again. Straddle carriers are for terminal efficiency. Other terminals use trucks instead. Our plan is to use trucks and prime movers for about 11 months until the straddle carriers arrive, so operations continue. Therefore, the claim that we delayed ECT is entirely false.

¶ 09 We will not stop at ECT. Previously, efforts focused on a single terminal. To compete with regional volume, we must continue. Accordingly, we have commenced the detailed design for WCT 2. By July–August next year, based on the interim report, we expect to call RFPs for WCT 2 as well.

¶ 10 We are also conducting a feasibility study for the North Port.

¶ 11 Our Ministry oversees eight institutions. I will highlight one matter: From 1971 to 2024, the Sri Lanka Ports Authority paid Rs. 10.38 billion to the Consolidated Fund. This year alone, we will remit Rs. 5 billion. That is how state institutions generate profits and fund the Treasury. Next year, we expect to increase this further. We were able to remit these funds due to a 54% growth in net profit, which yielded an additional Rs. 12 billion for the Treasury.

¶ 12 Over the past year, performance across our institutions has been very good with positive growth. I thank our Ministry officials, public officers, the former Minister Hon. Bimal Rathnayake for his leadership, and the Secretary to the Ministry for their interventions. With gratitude, I conclude.