Category: Shipping and Transport

January 31, 2013 (LBO) – The Royal Netherlands government has begun using key ports across Sri Lanka as points to disembark groups of marines deployed to protect Dutch marines from piracy attacks in the Indian Ocean. The group of Vessel Protection Detachment (VPD) team, currently protect vessels originating from Suez in Egypt. Most of these […]

Jan 21, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s southern port of Galle has become a hub in the fight against Somali pirates who threaten international merchant shipping, a report in a new magazine said. “Sri Lanka is one of the few countries in the region to authorise the transit of armed guards through their waters for […]

Jan 20, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Transport Board, a loss-making state bus utility has been given a 2.8 billion rupee bailout from tax payer money, the state information office said.In 2011 the SLTB had being given a 3.939 billion rupee subsidy on top of a 4.6 billion rupee cash handout the year earlier, according […]

Jan 18, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will build 37 major bridges on national roads with a loan from the Japan and major roads in Colombo will be re-built with another credit, information minister Keheliya Rambukwelle said.A bridge on the Nawala-Nugegoda road will also be reconstructed with the funds. Sri Lanka will borrow 12.38 billion […]

Jan 18, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s new vehicle registrations fell 44.8 percent to 25,308 in December 2012, with new registrations of small Maruti and Suzuki cars down 64 percent and BMW cars up 161 percent, data compiled by JB Securities equities research shows.BMWs are believed to be imported on tax-slashed permits given to state […]

Jan 17, 2013 (LBO) – Lanka Ashok Leyland, unit of Ashok Leyland has won a 700 million rupee contract to supply 200 buses to Sri Lanka’s state transport utility. Sri Lanka’s transport ministry will buy 200 buses from Lanka Ashok Leyland Plc, information minister Keheliya Rambukwelle said. The cabinet of ministers had approved a proposal […]

Jan 10, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will borrow 960 million Yuan (153 million US dollars) from China for additional costs to build a port in Hambantota, information minister Keheliya Rambukwelle said.The money will be used for “ancillary works” and the purchase of equipment in the first phase of the project. The first phase of […]

Jan 08, 2013 (LBO) – A call by a car carrier belonging to Japan’s K-Line, at Sri Lanka’s Colombo port this week is expected to lead to further business in transshipment from the shipping line, officials said.Wickrama had said 200 million dollars had been spent in upgrading container handling facilities in Colombo to boost productivity […]

Jan 01, 2012 (LBO) – A road circling Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo which connects to a new expressway network will get an additional interchange to accommodate projected traffic from a fast developing area, a top official said.The outer circular highway will get an extra interchange near Athurugiriya town, Road Development Authority chairman R W Pemasiri […]

Dec 20, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will build an 18 kilometre road for 1,802 million rupees with a loan from a commercial bank under a scheme of financing domestic contractors, minister Keheliya Rambukwelle said. Hatton National Bank, a private commercial bank will finance the road. The road runs from Meepe to Ingiriya in Sri […]

Dec 20, 2012 (LBO) – Australia based SMEC International (Pvt) Ltd, a consultancy, has been awarded the contract to study the feasibility and prepare bid documents for an expressway to the central Sri Lanka, a minister said. Later stages of the Northern Expressway project involve extensions to Jaffna in the north of the island and […]

Dec 06, 2012 (LBO) – A toll plaza at the entry of Sri Lanka’s first expressway to the island’s south which also connects to road circling the capital Colombo begins operations this week, the Japan International Corporation, which financed it said. The toll plaza at the Kottawa interchange of the Southern Expressway will have five […]