Category: Shipping and Transport

Feb 13, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s bus fares will be raised by 20 percent and striking buses will return to the streets from Tuesday, Gemunu Wijeratne, head of the Sri Lanka Private Bus Operators’ Association said. The new fares will be in effect for at least a year unless fuel prices are raised by […]

Feb 09, 2012 (LBO) – Shipping lines are coming together and concentrating their power to survive a downturn in trade that is causing losses but a recent freight rate hike might not last, Sri Lankan shippers have been told. In 2012, 253 vessels with a total capacity of 1. 4 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent container […]

Feb 07, 2012 (LBO) – Global ship agency and offshore marine service provider GAC has set up a supply base in Galle to support ship-to-ship (STS) services, a statement said. The new service complements existing services such as ship agency, bunker supplies and the ship supply service. GAC Sri Lanka uses a fleet of ten […]

Feb 02, 2012 (LBO) – A large number of vehicles breaking down on Sri Lanka’s first expressway may require motorists to get roadworthiness certificates to use the road, as traffic picked up steadily, an official said. From about 4,000 vehicles a day in December, usage has now increased to 7,200 by end January. Sri Lanka’s […]

Feb 02, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s southern expressway linking the capital Colombo with the south is to be extended to link the eastern port town of Trincomalee, Sri Lanka Ports Authority chairman Priyath Wickrama said. The move is part of a plan to improve the transport infrastructure to give manufacturers fast connectivity, he told […]

Jan 31, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Ports Authority plans to install bar code readers at Colombo port to speed up the movement of vehicles moving containers, a senior official said. Truckers have complained of lengthy waiting times of sometimes 6-8 hours to get in or out of the port. The existing gate pass system […]

Jan 27, 2012 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka Ports Authority wants to raise its stake in a new container terminal being built in Colombo and can use funds expected from the joint venture concession holder, an official said. The listed Aitken Spence group has said it was selling its entire 30 percent stake in the […]

Jan 26, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Aitken Spence group said it booked a gain of 630 million rupees by selling a 30 percent stake in a container terminal project to China Merchant Holdings International. Aitken Spence bid for the terminal project with China Merchants coming in as 55 percent partner, but it pulled out […]

Jan 26, 2012 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka Ports Authority is to start trials of an electronic cargo payment system at Colombo port in a tie-up with state-owned Bank of Ceylon next week, officials said. Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) Chairman Priyath Wickrama said a lot of port activities were being converted to semi-automated systems […]

Jan 26, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will sign an agreement with Italy authorities allowing Sri Lankan certified seafarers to work on Italian flagged vessels, information minister Keheliya Rambukwelle said. A memorandum of understanding to be signed with the Italy’s maritime administration will recognize certificates of competency issued by Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka’s cabinet of […]

Jan 23, 2012 (LBO) – China Merchant Holdings (International), a Hong Kong listed Chinese state firm, is to up its stake in a container terminal venture at Sri Lanka’s Colombo port by 30 percent to 85 percent with the exit of a private consortium partner. Sri Lanka’s listed Aitken Spence group said it received approval […]

Jan 19, 2012 (LBO) – IRCON International Ltd, an Indian company in railway infrastructure, has completed and handed over part of a rail track in southern Sri Lanka that is being upgraded with Indian aid. The formal hand over of th completed section of the Galle-Hikkaduwa railway track was made Thursday by S M Krishna, […]