A senior officer with theoretical and practical knowledge should be appointed to the post of Director General of the Department of Costal Conservation and Coastal Resources Management and, it has been
recognized that Mr. P. B. Terney Pradeep Kumara, the professor on Oceanography of the Oceanography and Marine Geology faculty of the University of Ruhuna is eligible for the post.

Therefore, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal furnished by the Minister of Mass Media to appoint him for two years for the post of of Director General of the Department of Costal Conservation and Coastal
Resources Management.

Approval was granted at the cabinet meeting held on 05-12-2023 to amend the Code of Criminal Procedure Act No. 15 of 1979 to remove suspects or accused persons to appear before the court in person under special circumstances and to provide for the remote recording of evidence and to provide the provisions for handing over the summons via e-mail to the specialist witnesses.

Accordingly, the clearance of the Attorney General has been received for the relevant bill that has been prepared by the draftsman.

Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the proposal presented by the Minister of Justice and National Integration to publish the said draft in the Government Gazette and then submit it to the Parliament.

As per the cabinet decision taken on 10-10-2022, international competitive bids were invited to procure 80 Ton Bollard Pull Tug one vessel for the Sri Lanka Ports Authority for the operation at the Colombo Ports.

Four (4) bids have been received for that purpose, and the procurement committee appointed by the Cabinet of Ministers has recommended awarding the bid to the lowest responsive bidder.

In the meantime, due to the imposition of the Value Added Tax Act of 01-01-2024, the cost of procurement has increased with the addition of tax to the relevant procurement cost. Even though discussions were made with the recommended supplier to obtain the said tug vessel on a loan basis, the said procurement process has been discontinued due to the disagreement with the supplier.

Subsequently, international competitive bids have been invited to obtain 02 vessels of the 80 ton bollard pull tug for  rental and 03 bids have been received for that purpose. Although discussions have been made with the lowest responsive bidder to obtain a deduction in price  in an advantageous manner for the Sri Lanka Ports Authority, the bidder has disagreed to provide the considerable price deduction.

In the meantime, since the necessity of the tug vessels should be reassessed on the progress of the completion of the construction of the new terminal at the Colombo port, the management of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority has made a request to cancel the aforesaid procurement process.

Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the proposal presented by the Minister of Transport, Highways, Port, and Civil Aviation to act in the following manner, taking into consideration that the construction of the new terminal is scheduled to be completed during the period between mid to late 2025.

• to complete the procurement process implemented to obtain 02 vessels of 80 ton bollard pull tug on rental basis for the operation conducted by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority.
• to commence new procurement process to obtain 02 vessels of 70 ton bollard pull twin azimuth stern drive harbor tug which are required for the operations of new terminal scheduled to be started mid term of the year 2025.