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South Asia Gateway Terminals (SAGT) has achieved an impressive milestone in handling 2 million teu in a calendar year for the first time. The landmark container was loaded at the Colombo terminal operator’s facility on 19th December.
Over the past five years, SAGT has averaged around 1.7 million teu per annum, so this represents a significant increase. The throughput performance this year beats the previous highest volume of 1.9 million teu which was achieved in both 2009 and 2010.
According to SAGT, the fact that 2 million teu was handled over a relatively short 940m quay length means the terminal has this year achieved the best operational yield per metre of quay length in the port of Colombo. Indeed, SAGT claims it is the highest in the entire South Asia region.
South Asia Gateway Terminals (SAGT) is the first Public Private Partnership container terminal in Sri Lanka, with approximately 60% Sri Lankan shareholdings, and commenced operations in 1999. SAGT is a Board of Investment company whose shareholders include John Keells Holdings, Maersk/APM Terminals, SLPA and Evergreen Marine Corporation.
Meanwhile, another local operator, Colombo International Container Terminals (CICT), has indicated that it is buying more cranes, allowing it to handle bigger vessels more effectively. On the terminal’s shopping list are two new quayside gantry cranes, six new rubber-tyred gantry cranes (RTGs) and 12 terminal tractors. The new equipment will increase capacity by around 13 per cent, CICT says.
“This improvement of capacity and the upgrade of facilities at a time of global economic uncertainty is an emphatic demonstration of our commitment to the Port of Colombo and reflects how serious we are about continuing to be the major contributor to the port’s bid to be a major transshipment hub,” commented CICT chief executive Jack Huang.
