Category: Shipping and Transport

August 04, 2006 (LBO) – Feeder vessels operating in Colombo said they would remove a cost recovery surcharge imposed on ships calling on the island, from August 10. Following a recent strike at the Colombo port that crippled work for eleven days, feeder vessels slapped a 40 dollar levy per Twenty foot Equivalent Unit (TEU) […]

August 02 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s first toll road is still on the shelf without funding, with the government saying they will even consider commercial loans just to get the project going. The project was to go ahead with Chinese government funding lent on concessionary terms, built by a Chinese contractor. The country’s Road Development […]

July 29, 2006 (LBO) – Malaysias top budget airline AirAsia is in talks to buy up a minority stake in local carrier Holiday Air, which is due to start international flights next year. Ruzaik says he hopes to have the technical plan for Holiday Air complete by October this year, after which recruiting for the […]

July 22, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s main port is limping back to work following government assurance to consider striking workers demand for a pay hike, an official said Saturday. “The unions called off the strike after a government delegation led by the shipping minister agreed to resolve the issue of a salary increment within […]

July 21, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s main export industry is reeling due to the ongoing strike at the Colombo port, amid moves by feeder vessel operators to hike rates to recover losses, officials said Friday. The island’s 2.5 billion dollar clothing industry is unable to meet buyers’ deadlines and is contemplating taking legal action […]

July 20, 2006 (LBO) – Trade union action at Sri Lanka’s main harbour entered its 10th day Thursday, despite a court ruling to restrain striking workers. The government urged striking union workers belonging to Sri Lanka Ports Authority to resume work despite union allegations that the Colombo District court order issued Wednesday is yet to […]

July 19, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state run transport authority will give private bus owners a financial handout to encourage them to replace run down buses with new ones. The National Transport Commission will give qualified bus owners 96,000 rupees per bus over 12 months little over three percent of the three million rupee […]

July 19, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s ports minister Mangala Samaraweera said he was willing to negotiate with striking trade unions if they get back to work on Thursday. “I would like to invite all employees of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority who do not want to sabotage the SLPA (Sri Lanka Ports Authority), to […]

July 17 (LBO) – A research study has indicated that the construction of the Colombo Outer Circle Road should have the highest priority, a logistics expert said. Professor Saman Bandara of the Transport and Logistics Department of the University of Moratuwa says the Outer Circle Road should be built before the proposed expressways. The second […]

KUALA LUMPUR, July 12, 2006 (AFP) – Tony Fernandes, head of budget carrier AirAsia, will ensure the airline remains Malaysian owned and not sell shares to Singapore state investment arm Temasek Holdings, a report said Wednesday. Fernandes, who has a majority stake in Tune Air which in turn owns 40 percent in Asia’s pioneering low […]

PARIS, July 2, 2006 (AFP) – Passengers boarding planes in France are now paying a new tax on their tickets to help the world’s poor, after the measure came into effect on the weekend.The tax, championed by President Jacques Chirac and backed by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, adds a surcharge of between one and […]

June 28, 2006 (LBO) – SriLankan Airlines said Wednesday group net profit in the year to March rose nearly 50 percent annually to 2.04 billion rupees over 62.49 billion rupees in revenues, amidst soaring fuel costs and stiff competition. For the financial year ended March, the carrier’s net profits rose to 797.93 million rupees over […]