The Port of Colombo has moved into the world’s 20 busiest container ports, climbing six places from 26th at the end of 2025, the Sri Lanka Ports Authority said on Friday, citing first-half 2026 throughput rankings compiled by shipping analyst Alphaliner.
Colombo handled 4,444,034 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in the six months to June, against 3,972,053 TEUs in the same period of 2025 — an increase of 471,981 TEUs, or 11.9 per cent, the SLPA said in remarks reported by Ada Derana. NewsFirst reported the same ranking movement and Alphaliner attribution, calling it one of the strongest gains recorded by any major port in the period.
The half-year total follows a record 2025, when the port handled approximately 8.3 million TEUs. Transshipment accounts for the overwhelming majority of Colombo’s throughput, and the authority said the figures reflect deepening integration with mainline and feeder networks linking East Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe.
Growth slowed in the second quarter
The headline 11.9 per cent understates how the year began and overstates how it continued. The SLPA said Colombo handled 2.915 million TEUs between January and April, a 13.9 per cent rise on the same four months of 2025.
Those two figures can be read against each other. A 13.9 per cent gain on a January–April 2026 total of 2.915 million implies a 2025 base of about 2.56 million for the same months, leaving roughly 1.41 million TEUs for May and June 2025. Colombo moved about 1.53 million TEUs across May and June this year — growth of around 8 per cent, well below the 13.9 per cent recorded through April.
Volumes are still rising, but the rate of increase has eased since the spring. Neither the SLPA statement nor the two reports addressed the slowdown.
Up to US$2 billion in planned investment
The authority said it is pursuing further investment in container handling and logistics infrastructure of up to US$2 billion over the next one to three years, including expansion projects and public-private partnerships. It said capacity expansion must progress alongside improvements in productivity, technology and operational coordination.
The half-year figure already exceeds what Colombo handled in the second half of 2025, implied at about 4.33 million TEUs by the annual and first-half totals. Holding the current run-rate through December would put the port near 8.9 million TEUs for the year.
Colombo’s terminal capacity has been expanding on several fronts, though not without friction. The SLPA in July called tenders to remove ageing cranes at the Jaya Container Terminal, and the West Container Terminal has been running under Adani-led operation after an earlier financing route was dropped.
