News

Advocata Institute welcomes SL’s decision to resume stalled project to develop East Container Terminal

Published

6 years ago

2020/11/15

Sahan Weerasooriya

Open and Competitive Bidding must be the way forward

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka—

As reported in numerous media sources, a leading Indian consortium is the front runner to develop the stalled East Container Terminal (ECT) in the Colombo Port.

An agreement was reached during the tenure of the former government to develop the ECT in collaboration with the governments of India and Japan. However, the progress of the terminal development was stalled due to various reasons.

The Advocata Institute welcomes the decision of the administration to resume the stalled project. The significance of the Colombo Port is driven by its large volumes of transhipment to India, which now accounts for about 70% of the total quantity of shipments. It is beneficial that both countries continue to strengthen this relationship through trade and economic partnerships.

However, we would like to provide input on two main policy areas surrounding this project, in order for policymakers and the public to evaluate the efficacy of the upcoming arrangement.

Accountability through Competitive Bidding

The key concern of the Government when entering any kind of public-private partnership such as the container terminal development process should be to ensure that it will produce value for money. The commercial partner selected should be the most capable of producing this outcome. An open tender process would allow for a more efficient allocation of resources by using competitive pricing as a tool to reflect real market sentiments and allowing better utilization of resources.

Tax concessions

The ECT provides an unique competitive advantage for the operator. The risk in this investment is relatively low, given that the port is already established. The Southport (deepwater port) is well known and has been in existence for 6-7 years. The port is also strategically located with only a 4-hour deviation from the major east-west shipping route. Additionally, its competitor, the CICT terminal is running close to capacity.

Finally, there is a very limited employment multiplier effect that this project can create. The private returns are significantly higher than the cost of capital factoring in-country and project risk. Taken together and based on the publicly available information, the case for tax holidays on this project is weak.

Further consideration must also be placed on the precarious fiscal situation that the country is presently in and the need to mobilise more tax revenue.

The Advocata Institute calls upon the government to strengthen oversight and accountability through an open tender process. We believe that such a policy direction would be more conducive to reaching the administration’s vision of a more productive and prosperous Sri Lanka. (Advocata Press Release)

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News

Animal Welfare Draft Bill to be Gazetted

Published

6 hours ago

2026/06/24

Priyan

A specialists committee has been appointed by the Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation adhering to the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers dated 29.12.2025 for submitting appropriate recommendations analyzing the provisions of the draft bill formulation in regard to Animal Welfare.

Based on the recommendations of the said Committee, the Legal Draftsman has been instructed at the meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers held on 18.05.2026 to prepare the final bill on the animal welfare.

Wherefore, the Legal Draftsman has formulated the draft bill and the clearance of the Attorney General has been received in the connection.

Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers granted approval to the resolution furnished by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation to publish the said draft bill in the
Government Gazette Notification and subsequently forward the same to the Parliament for its concurrence.

News

Legal provisions on marking voters using indelible ink during elections removed

Published

6 hours ago

2026/06/24

Priyan

Under the legal provisions for elections in this country since 2004, it is mandatory for voters who come to mark their votes to verify their identity through a valid identity card, and it is also mandatory for all such voters to be marked with an appropriate mark using indelible ink. The dual purpose of these two functions is to prevent a voter from voting more than once in a single election.

It has been observed that having to follow two different
methods at the same time to achieve the same objective hinders the efficiency of the duties performed at the polling stations and also incurs additional costs to the government.

Therefore, it has been deemed appropriate to remove the legal provisions regarding the use of indelible ink and marking the voter with the appropriate mark from all election acts.

Accordingly, the development activities of the province, as well as national security, will benefit. Therefore, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution furnished by the
President to take necessary steps to remove the legal provisions

• Section 36 of the presidential Election Act, No 15 of 1981
• Section 38 of the Parliamentary Election Act, No 01 of 1981
• Section 36 of the Provincial Council Election Act, No 02 of 1988
• Section 53 A of the Local Government Elections Ordinance (262 Authority)
• Section 21 of the Referendum Act No 7 of 1981

News

Showers will occur in the Western, Sabaragamuwa and North-western provinces and in Galle, Matara, Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya districts

Published

7 hours ago

2026/06/24

Priyan

WEATHER FORECAST FOR 24 JUNE 2026
Issued at 05.30 a.m. on 24 June 2026 by the Department of Meteorology

Several spells of showers will occur in the Western, Sabaragamuwa and North-western provinces and in Galle, Matara, Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya districts. Showers or thundershowers may occur at a few places in the Uva province and in Ampara and Batticaloa districts after 2.00 p.m.

Fairly strong winds about (30-40) kmph can be expectedat times over the Western slopes of the central hills, the Northern, North-central, North-western and Southern provinces and in Trincomalee district.

The general public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damage caused by temporary localized strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.