A special World Bank delegation led by Ms. Cecile Fruman – Director, South Asia Regional Integration and Engagement and Ms. Mandakini Kaul – Regional Coordinator, South Asia Regional Integration and Engagement visited the Port of Colombo recently for a policy dialogue meeting on regional cooperation in South Asia.
The World Bank had organised this field visit to showcase the role of Port of Colombo (POC) as a growing maritime hub of the South Asia Region.
The visit was also a part of a dialogue series which is convened periodically by the World Bank to informally bring together a group of eminent South Asians to discuss opportunities and challenges in regional cooperation.
Keith D. Bernard, the Chairman of Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) who welcomed the special World Bank delegation said that the foremost objective of the Port of Colombo was to transition towards a highly environmentally-conscious model, aligning with the principles of a blue ocean economy in the foreseeable futue.
SLPA chairman said at the meeting that his institution was committed to transforming the Port of Colombo into an eco-friendly port by 2030, with a strong emphasis on renewable energy sources.
“In this context, we are actively exploring green energy solutions, including green methanol, green ammonia and green hydrogen,” he said.
“As part of our ongoing development plans for the Port of Colombo, we are committed to providing shore power to all vessels from our terminals. Simultaneously, we are dedicated to minimising the carbon footprint associated with our operations at the Port of Colombo. We are working diligently to achieve these sustainability goals,” he said.
