Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) has doubled the capacity of its Colombo West International Terminal (CWIT) to 3.2 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) with a total investment of $750 million, as the company looks to strengthen its position in the Indian Ocean’s transshipment trade.

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya on Thursday inaugurated the terminal’s Phase II expansion, which takes CWIT’s capacity from 1.6 million TEUs to 3.2 million TEUs, stated an official release. The expanded terminal is expected to handle nearly a quarter of the Port of Colombo’s targeted 13 million TEU capacity by 2028. The additional infrastructure will also allow CWIT to berth three ultra-large container vessels simultaneously, strengthening Colombo’s role as a transshipment hub on the East-West trade route.

CWIT, a joint development of APSEZ, John Keells Holdings and the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) under a 35-year build-operate-transfer (BOT) concession, has handled 2 million TEUs within its first 18 months of operations. The terminal had earlier set a record by handling one million TEUs within its first year of operations in 2024.

“Doubling CWIT’s capacity to 3.2 million TEUs with a $750 million investment is a direct statement of confidence from APSEZ and from the global shipping lines,” APSEZ Whole-Time Director and CEO Ashwani Gupta stated in the release. APSEZ, part of the Adani Group, operates 16 ports and terminals across India and four international ports in Australia, Colombo, Israel and Tanzania.

CWIT is Sri Lanka’s first fully automated deep-water container terminal and has been designed to handle the world’s largest container vessels. The facility uses fully electrified operations and has recorded 17 million safe working hours, according to the company. The project has generated more than 3,000 direct and indirect jobs, APSEZ said. John Keells Group chairman Krishan Balendra said the expansion would create greater opportunities to strengthen Colombo’s position as a transshipment hub and support Sri Lanka’s role as a regional trade centre.

Source: The Hindu Business Line

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