Category: Industry
Hambantota Woes
The Hambantota Port project may not get off ground as soon as expected, Ports Minister Rauf Hakeem warned today. The Canadian firm SNC Lavelin offered to conduct the feasibility last year, and is due to submit the final report by September.rn rnBut their pre-feasibility work has so far failed to impress the authorities.rn rnldblquote I […]
Quick Time
Sri Lanka Telecom has started rolling out the first phase of its plan to innovative broadband access technologies for residential and business customers. ADSL or Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line is essentially a continuously open data line to an Internet Service Provider that works over conventional telephone lines.rn rnADSL in addition allows the ability to transfer […]
Earth Slip
The Government has approached the United Nations in Geneva for US$ 27.5 mn rnin short term relief to rebuild houses and infrastructure damaged in recent floods.rn rnA full scale flood damage assessment is currently underway by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Minister Karu Jayasuriya said Thursday. rn rnldblquote We have already Rs. 100 mn in […]
Short Circuit
rnRegulators are holding back on a date to auction overseas call access codes due to a lack of interconnection between operators.rnrnPreviously, the auction set for mid May was put off for a June date, again due to interconnection issues and a lack of rules governing the sale. rn rnNow, a draft set of rules are […]
Fail Safe
A blueprint for a proposed social security net for retrenched workers has got the Treasury go-ahead, with the changes to be gazetted in two weeks.rn ldblquote The treasury has approved the proposal we put forward and we hope to reach a final decision in two weeks, before we can officially announce it dblquote , Labour […]
Building Blocks
Standard concession agreements are being drawn up for the road sector, spelling out the financial, technical and legal A to Zs for potential private developers.rnrn Concession agreements spell out government policy in areas such as how many years a developer operates a project, to government concessions and guidelines on tolling.rn rnldblquote Concession agreements will form […]
Creating Wealth
National Wealth Corporation, the governments new wealth management agency, is offering its expertise to government institutions, private firms and high networth individuals.The corporation, established as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Mahapola Trust Fund (MTF), will also seek private equity later on, to strengthen its operations. rn rnldblquote What we intend to do is to […]
Silent Watch
Watching for a leopard is patient labour; Studying the elusive and protected wildcat is something else altogether. But prohibitive research costs has conservationists turning to guided tourism as a gold mine and a possible solution.Sri Lankas national parks like the one at Yala, are home to a distinct sub-species of leopard, Panthera pardus kotiya.rn rnldblquote […]
HSBC Believes
A top HSBC executive says the banks operations in emerging markets like Sri Lanka play an important role in adding value to their global network.While some foreign banks have shut down their operations in the island HSBC is counting on the country becoming an Asian economic powerhouse.rn rnldblquote Sri Lanka could explode one day and […]
Tug-O-War
Shippers and exporters are pushing hard for legislation to resolve a long standing billing dispute with ship agents and owners.Shippers say the charge is being used by shipping lines to make profits, while making the countrys exports uncompetitive.rn rnThe Shippers Council has abandoned talks with ship agents to resolve a long running dispute to get […]
Edu.Online
An ADB sponsored project will roll out a series of distance education tele-centers countrywide, so students left out of the state system can get those degrees online.rnrn The Asian Development Bank (ADB) today, approved a US$ 45 mn loan for a lquote Distance Education Modernization Project, to increase access to distance and on-line learning.rn rnThe […]
Pirates Ahoy
Exporters are calling the inclusion of a significant part of lquote on the ship expenses to the terminal handling charge (THC), technically a recovery of land based cost, as unfair and anticompetitive.A breakdown of the THC shows that upto US$ 81 of the US$ 148 levy for a 20 foot container was for discharging and […]