{"id":150171,"date":"2025-06-10T15:40:29","date_gmt":"2025-06-10T22:40:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=150171"},"modified":"2025-06-10T15:40:29","modified_gmt":"2025-06-10T22:40:29","slug":"colombo-port-heading-towards-a-natural-death-japtu-warns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2025\/06\/10\/colombo-port-heading-towards-a-natural-death-japtu-warns\/","title":{"rendered":"Colombo Port heading towards a \u2018natural death\u2019, JAPTU warns"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Chaturanga Pradeep Samarawickrama Courtesy The Daily Mirror<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

The Colombo Port, long considered the economic heartbeat of Sri Lanka, is heading towards a \u2018natural death\u2019 due to  mismanagement at the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA), Co-Convenor of the Joint Alliance of Port Trade Unions (JAPTU) Shyamal Sumanaratne warned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking at a special media briefing yesterday in Colombo, Sumanaratne questioned whether President Anura Kumara Dissanayake is fully aware of the deteriorating state of affairs within the Ports Authority and the looming crisis surrounding the East Container Terminal (ECT).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sumanaratne alleged that under the current administration, the SLPA has fallen into disarray, plagued by poor leadership and stalled projects. Despite sending six letters to Ports Minister Bimal Ratnayake and the Deputy Minister highlighting these issues, no responses have been received to date, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He welcomed the recent removal of the Managing Director of the Ports Authority who previously served as the Project Director for the Eastern Container Terminal, but urged further action, over the departure of an experienced Ports Board member with crucial maritime expertise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The trade union leader further accused SLPA\u2019s current administration of misleading President Dissanayake by claiming that the Eastern Container Terminal would be ready for opening by June 30. In reality, Sumanaratne said, the terminal\u2019s launch could be delayed by another year and a half.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He attributed this to a series of detrimental actions under the current leadership, including the transfer of key administrative officials, the cancellation of tenders, and the halting of critical procurement processes. Notably, the tender for the purchase of \u2018Straddle Carriers\u2019 essential equipment for container operations was cancelled after the new administration assumed office and has yet to be reissued. According to Sumanaratne, it would take a minimum of 200 days to acquire this equipment once an order is placed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also noted that essential infrastructure, including computer systems, transportation equipment, and the recruitment of trained personnel for terminal operations, remains incomplete. Additionally, work on the terminal\u2019s route has reportedly been suspended on the recommendation of a committee appointed by the Deputy Minister of Ports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The NPP government promised so much to port workers, but not a single promise has been delivered,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The media briefing was also attended by Thushari Priyanka, President of the National Employees\u2019 Union; Indika Samarawickrama, President of the Free Employees\u2019 Union; and Dickson Gomez, President of the United Employees\u2019 Union, among other union representatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Chaturanga Pradeep Samarawickrama Courtesy The Daily Mirror The Colombo Port, long considered the economic heartbeat of Sri Lanka, is heading towards a \u2018natural death\u2019 due to  mismanagement at the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA), Co-Convenor of the Joint Alliance of Port Trade Unions (JAPTU) Shyamal Sumanaratne warned. Speaking at a special media briefing yesterday […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-150171","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150171","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=150171"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150171\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=150171"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=150171"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=150171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}