President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday assured that the Eastern Terminal of the Colombo harbour will not be handed over to any outside party. 

The President made this remark while addressing the 38th anniversary of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority, yesterday. 

Commenting on the agreement on the development of the Hambanthota harbour, the President said the first agreement in this regard was drafted in September, 2014, when former President Mahinda Rajapaksa was in power. 

"I was a Cabinet minister in that government and I know the terms and conditions of the previous agreement," he said. 

"It was, I must say, much worse than the current agreement."

The President also said there is room to amend the clauses of the current agreement in the future, with mutual consent. 

"This was included in the agreement under my instructions," he revealed. 

He also added that clauses were included in the new agreement to execute the operations of the Port under the laws of Sri Lanka, with the supervision of the Sri Lanka Navy.