Category: Shipping and Transport

Aug 12, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shippers have rejected the report of a mediation committee that probed a dispute over cargo handling charges in Colombo port, saying the matter remains unresolved. The council, an apex body representing the island’s exporters and importers, has waged a long campaign against the terminal handling charge imposed by […]

Aug 07, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is negotiating additional funds to re-start work on a section of a highway to the island’s south that is now suspended, but the first part is on track for completion by 2010, a top official said.The head of the island’s road development authority R W Pemasiri says negotiations […]

Aug 05, 2008 (LBO) – The government lacks the funds to build part of an expressway in southern Sri Lanka that is scheduled to be completed by 2010, a senior government official said.The southern expressway is meant to link the capital Colombo with the town of Matara in the deep south of the island which […]

Aug 04, 2008 (LBO) – Heavy swells caused by monsoon weather are creating delays at Colombo port, officials at shipping lines calling at the Sri Lankan harbour said. The bad weather sometimes forces vessels to delay entering the port as well as leave after discharging and loading cargo, they said. “At the moment productivity has […]

Aug 01, 2008 (2008) – The Sri Lankan government plans to award a Chinese firm the contract to build a long-delayed expressway linking the capital Colombo with the island’s sole international airport north of the city. Government officials said Cabinet approval is to be sought this month to grant permission to the Chinese firm to […]

July 29, 2008 (LBO) – An efficient public transport system will help Sri Lanka reduce its fuel bill and curb environmental pollution, a top official from the National Transport Commission (NTC) said. Nearly 70 percent of the total fuel consumption per year is by private passenger vehicles which carry less than 30 percent of the […]

July 25, 2008 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings said the future of the bunkering business of Sri Lanka’s John Keells Holdings was uncertain after a court ordered the return of land which held a tank farm, but said its ‘AAA(lka)’ rating was unchanged.Fitch Ratings said the firm may be able to either re-negotiate access to the […]

July 23, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has inked a deal with India’s Export-Import Bank of India to borrow 100 million US dollars to upgrade a coastal rail track and buy rolling stock, the island’s finance ministry said. A credit agreement for 100 million US dollars was signed between finance ministry secretary P B Jayasundera […]

July 16, 2008 (LBO) – Colombo port plans to order more quay-side gantry cranes, mobile cranes and tractors to boost productivity and cope with increasing cargo flows, a senior official said.Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) chairman Saliya Wickramasuriya said the new equipment acquisition was part of the ports efforts to improve efficiency and the port’s […]

July 10, 2008 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka Shippers’ Council (SLSC) says their dispute with foreign shipping lines over a handling charge at Colombo port remains unresolved despite repeated protests and court action. The dispute between Sri Lankan exporters and foreign shipping lines has moved into mediation mode, on a supreme court directive, and a […]

July 01, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan freight forwarders should use their expertise in international trade to modernise the island’s archaic, inefficient domestic trade, a transport expert said. Amal Kumarage, chairman of the National Transport Commission, said inefficiencies in internal trade were a huge cost to the economy as well as individuals and a drag […]

June 30, 2008 (LBO) – The Sri Lankan government is considering establishing a fund based on a levy charged from merchant vessels to handle emergencies caused by oil spills, a senior official said. Marine Pollution Prevention Authority (MPPA) chairman Ranjit Kularatne said the potential for oil spills caused by ship accidents is very high given […]