The Hon. Bimal Rathnayake - Minister of Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation and Leader of the House of Parliament
The Minister addressed concerns raised on several matters, noting that Wildlife officers had acted in the case involving the removal of “Sumedha” the elephant’s tusk and that the lorry driver had been remanded under case B/332/2025. He stated that the East Container Terminal of Colombo Port would not be privatized and outlined a phased completion schedule from March 2025 to full completion in 2026, with oversight by officials, unions, experts and a Steering Committee. He said alternative designs for the port access road would be assessed before a decision, emphasizing the strategic importance of Colombo Port. He also alleged inflated contractor claims in the Ruwanpura Expressway project, saying the Government would investigate, prosecute malpractice, and support legitimate contractors, including through overseas opportunities.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Hon. Chairman, I thank the Hon. Chief Organizer of the Opposition and Members present. I will respond succinctly.
¶ 02 Hon. (Dr.) Kavinda Heshan Jayawardhana raised the issue of “Sumedha” the elephant’s tusk being removed. Though not my Ministry, it concerns the country. The lorry driver has been remanded until the 21st under case number B/332/2025; Wildlife officers took action.
¶ 03 On Colombo Port’s East Container Terminal (ECT): it is a strategically vital terminal, won by workers’ and unions’ struggles. We will not privatize it, but manage it well. The timeline is: Section 1 to finish March 2025 (now completed), Section 2 by June 2025 (three months), Section 3 by October 2025, Section 4 by November 2025, and Section 5 fully by 2026. We have engaged current and former capable, honest Port Authority officials, unions, and a World Bank expert on Colombo Port. A Steering Committee is formed; we believe we can elevate ECT significantly. There is no tender issue; we only stopped an attempted malpractice, causing no significant delay.
¶ 04 On the Port access road design: two options exist—the current drawing and an alternative by senior officials. We will simulate both and select the best. Colombo Port is a national blessing; we will not take even a tenth of a risk with it. Despite crises, Colombo remains around 13th globally, within the top 20–25 ports. With careful stewardship, we will advance it.
¶ 05 On Ruwanpura Expressway claims: there is a “claims industry” with firms inflating bills—e.g., Rs. 300 million works turned into Rs. 10 billion bills. We will use state intelligence to act against such actors. The President has warned even tax officers about enabling revenue loss. We are tracing these practices and will prosecute. Let me be clear: we will not take a cent from any contractor. We have met leading contractors and told them: you are important, but conduct the construction industry properly. We will support those who act rightly, including enabling their ventures abroad through our embassies.
¶ 06 Within our Ministry is the CMLHR (Seemasahitha Lakdiva Engineers Pvt. Ltd.), which has been a dynamic institution.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Friday, 7 March 2025 ·No. 1743066559006904 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. Bimal Rathnayake - Minister of Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation and Leader of the House of Parliament. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 7 March 2025. No. 1743066559006904. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/17997