Category: Shipping and Transport

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 […]

June 24, 2008 (LBO) – Ceylon Shipping Corporation (CSC), Sri Lanka’s national shipping line, has struck a deal with a member of a famous Greek shipping dynasty for a joint venture project to transport petroleum products and supply ship fuel. The CPC wants to go for long-term freight contracts to reduce costs and be able […]

June 20, 2008 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka Ports Authority has called for bids to build a new port in southern Galle, next to the existing harbour, an official said. The main commodity handled by the existing Galle harbour is cement. In the project’s second phase, a large leisure component will be introduced with a […]

HONG KONG, June 18, 2008 (AFP) – China has no plans to try and dominate the shipping lanes of the Indian Ocean, its ambassador to India said in Hong Kong Wednesday. “We don’t have such an intention to establish a chain to encircle India,” said ambassador Zhang Yan at a lunch held by the Asia […]

June 16, 2008 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) is getting ready to make commercial use of its vast landholdings around the harbours in the island, some of which are now considered prime property. “We’ve structured a framework agreement by which we can use the land for public-private partnership projects,” SLPA chairman Saliya […]

June 12, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s cabinet of ministers had given the nod to borrow 100 million US dollars from India to upgrade a part of the island’s railway system, a senior government minister said. The southern track was also torn up by the 2004 December tsunami. It was quickly repaired by the cash-strapped […]

June 10, 2008 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) plans to get a credit rating that will enable it to borrow abroad to fund harbour expansion projects and better manage debt repayments, its chairman Saliya Wickramasuriya said. “Our debt portfolio needs to be managed properly. We may need to do some debt swapping. […]

June 09, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has re-appointed project committees to award a container terminal concession to expand Colombo port, with fresh bids expected to be called by end-July, a top official said. Under the new agreement, the loan became effective in May while the government has agreed to award the terminal concession within […]