Category: Shipping and Transport

MANILA, March 10, 2008 (AFP) – The Asian Development Bank said Monday it would double its loan commitment for a major highway project in Sri Lanka to 140 million dollars. A 90 million-dollar loan approved in 1999 would be supplemented by a second loan to ensure the completion of the Colombo-Matara-Galle highway and widen it […]

March 06, 2008 (LBO) – Container transporters in Sri Lanka Thursday announced plans for a protest action and work stoppage that could disrupt the flow of cargo to and from Colombo port. The Joint Council of Transporters (JCT) said in a statement their members would commence a protest combined with work stoppage from March 10 […]

Mar 01, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state-owned Ceylon Petroleum Corporation plans to tie up with global ship supply firm GAC Ships to supply bunkers or ship fuel, officials said. The move is expected to bring down bunker prices in Colombo port, now among the highest in the world, as well as improve availability. The […]

Feb 29, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will call fresh bids for a planned new container terminal in Colombo and is going ahead with a contract to build its breakwater, a senior port official said. The other major port operator which did not bid was Dubai Ports World, which is making huge investments in ports […]

Feb 28, 2008 (LBO) – Access routes and the road network in Sri Lanka’s central hill city of Kandy will get a billion rupee spruce-up ahead of a regional meeting of heads of state scheduled for next year, a senior minister said. The government was planning to rehabilitate the main access road from Colombo, and […]

Feb 28, 2008 (LBO) – A joint venture between Sri Lanka’s International Construction Consortium (ICC) and China Harbour has a won 2.4 billion rupee deal to build section of the highway leading to a northeast of the island, a senior minister said. The contract floated by Sri Lanka’s Road Development Authority is funded by an […]

Feb 24, 2008 (LBO) — Sri Lanka will cancel a controversial deal for a container terminal at Colombo port and bring new conditions after a consortium led by the Port of Singapore Authority (PSA) won a financial bid, a media report said. The deal hit newspaper headlines with port workers alleging that state-run Sri Lanka […]

Feb 18, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka has further raised taxes on cars to discourage imports and save foreign exchange, officials said Monday, pushing first-time buyers out of the market as economic woes worsen on the island.The new tax, which adds 10-percent import duty on cars and vans, is to be rubber-stamped by parliament this […]

Feb 10, 2008 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) is pushing to award a container terminal concession in Colombo to Hutchison Port Holdings despite a technical committee nod for rival Port of Singapore Authority, a news report said Sunday. “The SLPA is determined to award the Colombo South Port Development Project to Hutchison […]

Feb 09, 2008 (LBO) – Colombo port has a good chance of enhancing its status as a container transhipment hub with its expansion plans and compliance with international maritime security codes, a container security expert has said. Stefaan Vermeire, Director General of the International Container Security Organization based in Brussels said Colombo’s location in the […]

Jan 29, 2008 (LBO) – A grouping of shipping lines calling at Colombo port have given notice of a sharp increase in freight rates to Europe, citing rising fuel prices and port delays in the region. But exporters have raised doubts whether the 19 container shipping firms, known as the India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Ceylon (IPBCC) […]

Jan 25, 2008 (LBO) – The national transportation commission of Sri Lanka has authorised a hike in bus fares due to recent fuel price increase, but private bus owners say it is insufficient. The fare increases approved by the commission will be effective from February 1 and are meant to minimise the effects of recent […]