Category: Shipping and Transport

June 18, 2007 (LBO) – South Asia Gateway Terminals (SAGT), Colombo Port’s privatised container facility, aims to handle 1.6 million containers by the end of this year, as India’s bulging trade volumes increase the flow of cargo through the harbour. SAGT’s new chief executive, Steven Edkins, believes Colombo will retain its status as South Asia’s […]

June 15, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Aitken Spence conglomerate is exiting from its ship-owning business because of lower earnings from chartering and rising maintenance costs, the company has said. The group has begun selling its fleet of small cargo ships which until recently helped boost the group’s bottom line. The group made a “strategic […]

June 12, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka should switch to mass urban transport to combat traffic congestion, and start a powerful umbrella organization to implement projects, a Sri Lankan-born professional heading a big US transport utility has advocated.The island should also build concrete roads, said Walter Wickramasinghe, Vice President and Director of Management of Metropolitan […]

VANCOUVER, Canada, June 5, 2007 (AFP) – The International Air Transport Association has given member airlines and travel agencies five extra months to switch entirely to electronic ticketing, to May 2008.IATA initially had scheduled the switchover to e-tickets, eliminating paper tickets, to be completed by December 31. The decision to extend the deadline was taken […]

June 03, 2007 (LBO) — A fire broke out aboard an Indian oil tanker undergoing repairs at the main port of Colombo Sunday, injuring 13 people, officials said.The firm is currently building two large size ocean going Anchor Handling Tug Supply Vessels with a 80 tonne Bollard Pull capacity for Greatship (India) Limited. The engine […]

June 01, 2007 (LBO) – SriLankan Airlines is stopping its domestic floatplane operations, in the wake of orders to stop flying to key destinations and a fall in tourist arrivals, the airline said. A team from the Dubai-based carrier is due in Sri Lanka to start talks on the extension, a senior treasury official said […]

May 25, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka government and Emirates airlines would soon have discussions on extending Srilankan Airlines’ management deal with the Dubai based carrier, a top official said. “A team is coming to meet the President on this,” Finance Ministry Secretary P B Jayasundera told LBO Friday. Dubai government-owned Emirates has a 10-year […]

May 24, 2007 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) is to start construction work on the planned new deep-water port in Hambantota on the island’s south coast in the first week of June, officials said. The first phase of the project is to be completed in three years and three months, SLPA vice […]

May 23, 2007 (LBO) – Japan Wednesday gave Sri Lanka a 15-million-dollar loan to re-build a key bridge in the embattled north-western district of Mannar, the Japanese embassy said.The bridge will connect the Mannar islet with the rest of the mainland and also speed up work to resettle thousands of people displaced by the ongoing […]

May 21, 2007 (LBO) – Four investor groups have sent in bids to build the infrastructure and do the dredging for the Colombo Port Expansion Project, a new deep-water harbour next to Colombo. The new port will be designed to handle ships with a draft of 16 metres and as long as 400 metres. Sri […]

May 17, 2007 (AFP) – Insurance rates for airlines operating to Sri Lanka are expected to remain unchanged after the government’s decision to shut the airport here for night flights following rebel air raids, officials said Thursday.Sri Lanka’s only international airport halted night flights last Thursday in line with new security measures following several night-time […]

May 16, 2007 (LBO) — Sri Lanka closed its only international airport for night flights at the request of national carrier SriLankan Airlines, who would have otherwise been slapped a high insurance premium, the president’s office said in a statement Wednesday.London-Heathrow another top global hub also closes in the night to minimise disturbing city dwellers. […]