KOICA assistance to modernise Colombo Port’s Plant Quarantine Service

The Korean Government and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) have started an arrangement to support the programme of modernisation of the Plant Quarantine Service at the Seaport of Colombo.

Accordingly, the Plant Quarantine Service at Colombo Port has been expanded from yesterday (25) and the new Plant Quarantine Service building built at a cost of US$ 1.3 million was opened yesterday at the Colombo Port premises.

Agriculture and Plantation Industries Minister Mahinda Amaraweera and Ports and Civil Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva, Agriculture Ministry Secretary Janaka Dharmakeerthi, Agriculture Department of DG Dr. Kamani Ranatunga and several officials participated.

Korean Ambassador to Sri Lanka Miyon Lee, KOICA Vice President Lee Yunyong and KOICA Country Director Kim Miyungjin and others were present.

From 2019 to 2024, the Korean Government implemented a number of programmes to modernise the plant quarantine service in Colombo Port. The amount they have spent on this project is US$ 7.5 million. Under that, this new building has been constructed and using this new technology, necessary research facilities and laboratory facilities have been established for import and export plant quarantine.

Agriculture and Plantation Industries Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said the staff of the Plant Quarantine Service have worked tirelessly to maintain the standards of service despite many challenges. “Measures were taken to prevent certain diseases and pests from entering the country, especially by the plants imported into the country”, he said.

The Minister thanked the South Korean Government and KOICA for extending support to upgrade the services of the Plant Quarantine Service.

“Plant quarantine is a necessary service for a country. We know that various things are happening in countries related to this subject. If an organism that is harmful to the country in some way enters due to any of our weaknesses, the negative impact on the country is not insignificant. Therefore, it is very important for us to implement the work order from today to modernise our plant quarantine service”, the Minister said.

The post KOICA assistance to modernise Colombo Port’s Plant Quarantine Service appeared first on DailyNews.