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SLPA plans ports upgrades countrywide

Azhar Razak

Ports and Shipping Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe said that several major ports throughout the island would be developed in 2018, including the Colombo port which would be upgraded to cultivate the cruise liner industry.

“We know that some 200 cruises pass through our seas but don’t stop at the Colombo port, as it doesn’t have adequate facilities.

We will upgrade the Colombo port to encourage cruise liners to stop at out the Colombo port for tourism related activities,” said Samarasinghe.

The Galle Port will be expanded to establish a yacht marina, he continued: “The sea area surrounding the Galle port is too shallow for container ships therefore we will make it a yacht marina. Along with the Galle Fort, this venture will greatly help tourism in the Galle district.”

In addition, a $40 million credit line will be used to develop the Kankasanthurai (KKS) Port with the help of Singaporean company Surbana Jurong.

“The Singaporean company has formulated a master plan for the KKS port. The SLPA owns some 5000 acres of land in the region. We are waiting for Cabinet approval to go ahead with the project,” Samarasinghe said.

With regard to the Oruville p0rt, the Minister said that it was still not operational due to several environmental issues.

“When the Oruville port was built the issue of sand filling the port had not been identified. We have now recognized that we must resolve this issue before it can be made operational. Also there is an issue of erosion in the surrounding coastal area affecting the local villages. We hope to resolve the two issues simultaneously,” he said, adding that they had sought assistance from the Department of External Resources for funds to begin renovation of the Oruville port this year.

In addition, Samarasinghe said that the development of ports on the East coast was a top priority of the Government. “Just in the last three years we have lost Rs 3500 million worth of profits because of the lack of functioning ports on the East coast. We will be presenting a cabinet paper shortly regarding Ports in the East coast.”

 

SLPA nets record profits of Rs 13.3 b

By Skandha Gunasekara
Bringing in the dividends of the Hambantota Port lease to China, the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) recorded an unprecedented profit of Rs 13.3 billion in 2017 assisted by its relief, top officials said yesterday.
Ports and Shipping Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe announced the revenue numbers yesterday while addressing a media briefing at the Ministry headquarters in Fort.
The leasing out of the Hambantota Port to a Chinese company and thereafter having the SLPA debts reduced was described as the main contributor to the high profit margin, the Minister noted.
The growth of the transhipment sector in 2017 by 20%, particularly in the 4th quarter, also assisted the SLPA in making higher profits than previous years.
“The SLPA expects t to achieve a similar or higher profit in 2018,” the Minister said, adding that the Government hopes to further develop the Colombo Port as a transhipment hub.
Elaborating on the profit/loss statistics of the SLPA in the past several years, the Minister said that in 2010 the SLPA had incurred a loss of Rs. 1000 million, in 2011 made a profit of Rs 583 million, a profit of Rs 2396 million in 2012, Rs 1571 million profit in 2013, Rs 8896 million profit in 2014, a loss of Rs 14,168 in 2015, a profit of Rs 1000 billion in 2016 and a profit of 13,324 million in 2017.
The SLPA had revenue of Rs 45,608 million in 2017, an increase of Rs 1528 million or 3.5%, when compared to 2016, which saw a revenue of Rs 44,080 million.
In addition, the SLPA was able to reduce its expenditure cost from Rs 33,005 million in 2016 to 30,180 million in 2017; a reduction of 8.6%, the Minister pointed out.
Subsequently, the Minister said that with the increase in profits, the SLPA has increased the wages of all its employees by Rs 10,000.
“We were able to achieve such profits because of the commitment and hard work of the SLPA employees. The increment of wages is effective from 1 January 2018. We will be ensuring the employees are paid in full for January and February. Rs 5000 from this Rs 10,000 increase will directly be added to their salaries. We will also be providing additional benefits and privileges as well,” the Minister said.
He said the wage hike was introduced in accordance with an agreement entered into between the Treasury, the SLPA and a number of SLPA trade unions.
Meanwhile SLPA Chairman Dr. Parakrama Dissanayake said that the employee wage hike will cost the SLPA and estimated Rs. 2300 million. 

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