Colombo Port expects 7.76 million TEUs in 2025
The Morning: Colombo Port expects a total container handling of 7.76 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in 2025 with transhipment expected to cross 6.21 million TEUs, the Ministry of Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation said.
In a report tabled in Parliament on 7 March, the ministry said that it expects a base case of 7.76 million TEUs handled in 2025 with the high case at 9.49 million TEUs.
The report said that the total container handling is expected to cross 10.57 million TEUs by 2030 with transhipment handling at 8.70 million TEUs.
The port expects a total cargo handling of 13.3 million tons in dry bulk, liquid bulk and general cargo in 2025, with expected vehicle import units for the year at 13,998 units.
Colombo Port handled an all-time high of 7.79 million TEUs in 2024 with Colombo International Container Terminal (CICT) handling the highest number of containers of 3.35 million TEUs and South Asia Gateway Terminal (SAGT) handling 2.02 million TEUs.
Colombo port had 3,521 vessels arriving in 2024.
In the first two months of 2025, Colombo Port had a total container handling of 1.26 TEUs, out of which one million TEUs are transhipments.
According to Port Authority, West Container Terminal (WCT) is expected to commence operations by the end of first quarter of 2025, where in the first stage WCT would add around 20-30% of its proposed final capacity of 3.5 million TEUs to the Colombo Port.
East Container Terminal is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2026, which would bring 3.2-3.5 million TEUs to Colombo Port.
OSL take:
Sri Lanka’s maritime industry is on a steady growth path with the country’s geographical positioning in the Indian Ocean and strong trade ties enjoyed with many foreign countries playing a key role in it. The growth and profits recorded by local businesses engaged in the maritime industry and the interest shown by many international maritime businesses to enter Sri Lanka are further indications of the increasing business potential in the industry and related sectors. The Sri Lankan government has also taken steps to further uplift and develop the country’s maritime industry including sectors like ports, shipping and logistics. Therefore, apart from the direct business/investment opportunities in the country’s maritime industry, there are emerging opportunities in the ports, shipping and logistics sectors. These opportunities range from the development of infrastructure and supplementary infrastructure facilities required to meet the increasing demand as well as to be on par with international standards required when becoming a regional hub. Given the positive developments, foreign businesses/investors could confidently explore the growing business/investment opportunities in Sri Lanka’s maritime industry and related sectors like ports, shipping and logistics.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/20250402/Z_6 |