Category: Shipping and Transport

April 20, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s tiny shipping industry has begun talks with the Customs authorities to clear a dispute over the payment of a tax on their vessels, an official said. Shipping analysts say taxing local owners could make them less competitive in international waters where their vessels trade and prompt them to […]

April 19, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lankan exporters are faced with a shortage of space on container ships for their shipments to Europe after several shipping lines diverted some of their services to India, an official said. The crisis is affecting exports of garments, tea and coir, Jayanath Perera, chairman of the Sri Lanka Shipper’s […]

April 19, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lankan exporters Thursday called for government intervention to prevent shipping lines imposing additional charges that were making exports uncompetitive and imports more expensive. Big buyers in the US negotiate freight rates with shipping lines for large volumes of cargo from different regions, such as south Asia where they might […]

April 19, 2007 (LBO) – Laugfs Holdings said Thursday it had signed an agreement with the government of Sri Lanka that gave it permission to import and market lubricants in the island. Laugfs group holds 30 percent market share for domestic Liquefied Petroleum Gas and around 55 percent for industrial bulk demand. The local market […]

April 12, 2007 (LBO) – MTD Construction Sdn Bhd, a Malaysian construction firm that bought a Sri Lankan listed company last week, is eyeing a big highway construction project planned in the island, an official said. The company is already in “advanced talks” with the government on building the Kandy-Colombo highway, said Asanga Seneviratne, from […]

April 11, 2007 (LBO) – A Sri Lankan brewer whose truck was involved in a fatal bus-truck crash on Tuesday, is offering cash to accident victims, an official said Wednesday.Local brewer, Lion Brewery Ceylon Ltd, is offering to pay 125,000 rupees (1,200 dollars) to relatives for each of the victims who died, while those who […]

INDURUWA, Sri Lanka, April 10, 2007 (AFP) – At least 22 people were killed and 57 others injured Tuesday when a crowded bus and a truck loaded with beer collided in southern Sri Lanka, police and doctors said.The accident came amid tight security at bus stations following fears of bomb attacks by Tamil Tiger rebels. […]

April 4, 2007 (AFP) – Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways Wednesday said it will resume flights to Sri Lanka after suspending services following a rebel attack on an airbase next to the island’s only international airport. “Safety is always our top priority,” chief operating officer Tony Tyler said, adding that Cathay would resume services from […]

March 30, 2007 (LBO) –Supermarket chain Marks & Spencer began shipping clothing made in their factories in the Indian sub-continent through the Global Parks logistics facility in Sri Lanka to its UK stores, Thursday. The multinational’s decision to use Sri Lanka as a supply chain hub demonstrates its confidence in the island despite the recent […]

March 30, 2007 (LBO) –The Japanese will give 30-year loan to Sri Lanka to build a link highway that will connect the Colombo-Matara to the Colombo-Katunayake expressway a government minister said. The Japanese Bank for International Cooperation will give 21.917 billion yen (19.7 billion rupees) loan to build a 4-lane stretch of the connecting highway, […]

March 29 (LBO) – SriLankan airlines says its emergency procedures allowed it and Sri Lanka’s main international airport to swing back into action within hours of a temporary closure earlier this week. “I doubt that any other major airport in the world could have recovered as quickly as we did,” Peter Hill, CEO of SriLankan […]

March 29, 2007 (LBO) – Competition in Sri Lanka’s automobile market is increasing with the launch of a range of small Fiat cars well suited for local roads. The Italian manufacturer, famous for its Ferrari and Alfa Romeo brands, wants to capture a slice of the island’s small but growing auto market, dominated by Japanese […]