Category: Shipping and Transport

Oct 17, 2007 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) Wednesday dismissed conflicting claims by rival bidders for a new terminal contract, saying they were inaccurate as bids were still being evaluated. “No one can claim to be the highest bidder,” said Nalin Aponso, deputy chief manager for communication and PR at the SLPA. […]

Oct 15, 2007 (LBO) – Though 25,000 state workers are eligible to buy duty-slashed vehicles, less than half of those entitled have so far applied for a car, officials said.Long waiting lists at agents for popular brands as well as the high cost of new cars is said to be deterring public servants from cashing […]

Oct 15, 2007 (LBO) – Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH) Monday dismissed claims by a rival bidder to have made the highest bid to build and operate Colombo’s planned new container terminal. HPH, one of the world’s biggest port operators, said it rejected as “somewhat presumptuous and inaccurate,” claims by Sri Lanka’s Aitken Spence conglomerate that […]

Oct 12, 2007 (LBO) –Sri Lanka’s Aitken Spence conglomerate said Friday that it appeared to have made the highest bid to build and operate a new container terminal in Colombo port. The company bid for the project in alliance with Port of Singapore Authority (PSA Corp) which runs the port of Singapore. “It appears from […]

Oct 11, 2007 (LBO) – The Sri Lankan government Thursday opened four financial bids by private sector consortia to build a new container terminal in the new Colombo south port project, officials said. No official word of the bids was available but a consortium including PSA Corp and an independent bid by Hutchison Port Holdings […]

Oct 10, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court Wednesday ordered the government to open all four financial bids to build a new container terminal in the new Colombo south port project, officials said. The order came after a consortium led by conglomerate John Keells Holdings sought court intervention when their technical bid for the […]

Oct 08, 2007 (LBO) – A new elevated highway connecting Colombo’s Fort areas with Malabe, a fast developing suburb will cost nearly 40 billion rupees, a Malaysian firm that is charged with studying its feasibility has said. Meanwhile a senior Sri Lankan official said the priority now was to push through a light rail project […]

Oct 07, 2007 (LBO) – DIMO, distributors of Mercedes Benz in Sri Lanka, says it hopes the newly introduced C-Class will revive sales but notes the increase in interest rates is a concern for the luxury vehicle market. The new C-Class known as W204, is expected to take-over from the old C-Class, the W203, as […]

Oct 06, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has asked a Malaysian firm to study the prospects for a highway from the Galle Face area of Colombo to the fast growing suburb of Malabe, PJI Holdings a Kuala Lampur listed firm, has said. This year the government is expected to spend around 170 million dollars on […]

Oct 05, 2007 (LBO) – John Keells Holdings’ (JKH) associate South Asia Gateway Terminals (SAGT) has reported record container volume growth in its Colombo port terminal but the facility is nearing capacity, port officials and analysts said. “SAGT will continue to be a cash generating operation but if JKH wants to be a growth story […]

Sept 30 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shippers say the government should follow the example of other countries in the region like India and China and introduce laws to curb the powers of shipping lines acting like cartels. The Global Shippers’ Forum and Asian Shippers Council at their recent meeting in Singapore called upon Asian governments […]

Sept 28, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shippers complain of government inaction in bringing anti-price fixing rules for shipping while India is moving against shipping lines accused of acting like cartels. The Shippers’ Council said they have now been forced to take court action to prod the government into action. “India is taking steps to […]