Construction of South Container Terminal of Colombo Port is set to begin on the 1st of December.

Hong Kong-based China Merchants Holdings (CMHI) and Sri Lankan conglomerate Aitken Spence entered into a non-binding agreement with the Sri Lanka Port Authority in September to design, construct, develop, manage, operate, and transfer the South Container Terminal at the Port of Colombo, with an additional capacity of 2.4 million TEUs. The port now handles 4.5 million TEU.

The terminal to be built comprises a total quay length of 1,200 m and a depo land area of 58 hectares, with water depth of -18m.

In the first phase of the project, 600 meters of the terminal will be completed by 2014 and the entire terminal will be completed by year 2016, SLPA said.