Health and Mass Media Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa inaugurated a new five-storey Port Health Office at the Port of Colombo, constructed at a cost of Rs. 168 million with funding from the Government of Japan.
The facility was built under a project implemented by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to strengthen Sri Lanka’s border health security.
The new Port Health Office will enhance the country’s capacity to identify public health risks entering through the port, improve surveillance of communicable diseases, support quarantine operations and enable a faster response to public health emergencies.
The Minister said the investment would play an increasingly important role in protecting both public health and the country’s economic security as Sri Lanka continues on its path of economic recovery.
The event was attended by Ports and Civil Aviation Minister Anura Karunatilaka, Japanese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Akio Isomata, IOM Chief of Mission for Sri Lanka and the Maldives Kristine Parco, senior officials of the Health Ministry and representatives of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority.