Striving for a greener tomorrow, South Asia Gateway Terminals (SAGT) partners with Center for Sustainability, University of Sri Jayewardenepura to reforest Yagirala reserve

South Asia Gateway Terminals (Pvt) Ltd, the first Public Private Partnership Container Terminal in Sri Lanka and flagship entity of the Board of Investment, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Center for Sustainability, University of Sri Jayewardenepura entering in to a 3-year partnership reforestation of the Yagirala reserve.

Impacted by logging and other human encroachment activities, the tropical wet evergreen Yagirala Forest Reserve was assigned to the Department of Forestry and Environmental Science of University of Sri Jayewardenepura in 1984 for research and protection by the Forest Department

SAGT’s sustainability strategy is drawn from materiality of impact on the Environment, Social and Governance factors of its terminal operations.

The organization has achieved several global awards for operational high-performance. On launching its first sustainability report “Going beyond” in 202, SAGT continues to drive its operations in alignment with the United Nations Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs).

This collaboration with the Center for Sustainability of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura commenced with an inaugural reforestation project in 2019. Volunteers from Team SAGT were instrumental in the planting of 700 trees in a 1-acre land area in Yagirala forest reserve.

The MoU is a commitment to restore a further 4 acres of land together University of Sri Jayewardenepura by the end of Year 2021 and to ensure the maintenance of the 5-acre land area until 2024. The project aims to plant more than 2,800 plants during the three-year period.
Sharing his views on the occasion, SAGT’s Chief Commercial Officer Ted Muttiah said “the collaboration with the University of Sri Jayewardenepura has enabled a combination of resources and capabilities to a common cause of improving Sri Lanka’s environment. The terminal operation has a heavy carbon footprint yet is an integral part of the country’s economic well-being. For this reason, partnerships such as this allows us the opportunity to move towards our aspiration to neutralize our carbo footprint in addition to operational equipment investments and innovations to drive decarbonization of our operations”

The University of Sri Jayewardenepura Vice Chancellor Prof. Sudantha Liyanage stated, “we are truly pleased to partner with SAGT a leading international container terminal operator in Sri Lanka. We have been working with SAGT since 2019 and I believe this partnership will be strengthened by this MOU. Going beyond the norms of the corporate social responsibility, SAGT’s continuous support for environmental conservation efforts in Sri Lanka is to be commended”

South Asia Gateway Terminals (SAGT) the first public private partnership container terminal in Sri Lanka (with approximately 60% of Sri Lankan shareholding) commenced operations in 1999, launching the Port of Colombo as global trade’s preeminent gateway hub to South Asia. Today, the terminal is one of three operators in the Port of Colombo and continues to offer the international container shipping community a competitive best in class service. SAGT is a Board of Investment (BOI) flagship company consisting of four shareholders – John Keells Holdings, Maersk/APM Terminals, Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) and Evergreen Marine Corporation