The Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) has held extensive discussions on the prolonged delays in the construction of the East Container Terminal (ECT) at the Colombo Port and the issues arising from the setback.
The matter was taken up during a COPE meeting held on November 13 in Parliament, chaired by MP Dr. Nishantha Samaraweera, as part of the committee’s review of the Auditor General’s Reports for 2022 and 2023 and the current performance of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA), the Parliamentary Department of Communication said.
The SLPA had previously been summoned before COPE on September 10, where the Auditor General’s observations and the authority’s progress were reviewed. However, several unresolved matters from that meeting were brought forward for further discussion.
During the latest session, COPE noted that Cabinet approval had been granted in November 2021 for awarding a Rs. 40,273 million contract for development work on the ECT. The committee raised concerns about the subsequent delays and examined the factors that contributed to the slowdown of the project.
