Sri Lanka Monday launched a China-funded port which will be the island's biggest and is intended to make Colombo a strategic shipping hub along the world's most lucrative trading route. President Mahinda Rajapakse commissioned the $500 million Chinese-built mega container terminal by symbolically loading the first container onto a ship in a ceremony broadcast live on national TV.
Monday's launch is part of an ambitious programme by the state-run Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) to expand Colombo harbour, which is located half way along the East-West sea trading route. "We want to capitalise on the geographic location of Sri Lanka and pass on the economic benefit to our people," Rajapakse said after formally commissioning the Chinese-run Colombo International Container Terminal. The terminal is 85 percent owned by state-run China Merchant Holdings International, with the rest owned by the SLPA. It is designed to handle mega ships with a capacity of over 18,000 containers - a first for Sri Lanka.
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