Category: Shipping and Transport

Nov 04, 2011 (LBO) – Construction of transport infrastructure like ports and airports positions Sri Lanka to be a regional trade hub just like Dubai and Singapore have done for trade between East and West, a logistics expert has said. “It is a prerequisite to be able to berth these ‘mega ships’. If not Sri […]

Nov 01, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lankan transport firms have formed a partnership with the local branch of a global professional body that will lobby the government on policy changes needed to improve the island’s logistics business. The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) Sri Lanka has teamed up with 15 corporate entities from […]

Oct 31, 2011 (LBO) – A post-war economic boom and lower import taxes helped sharply increase September 2011 quarter profits at two Sri Lankan vehicle importers which are agents for top German, Japanese and Indian brands. Diesel & Motor Engineering Company (DIMO), agents for Mercedes Benz and Tata, said September quarter net profit rose 175 […]

Oct 28, 2011 (LBO) – Eight firms, including from Malaysia and Korea have expressed interest in building a highway to Sri Lanka’s central hill city of Kandy, deputy highways minister Nirmala Kothelawala said. According to the preliminary data on Sri Lanka’s Road Development Authority website, the Kandy Colombo Expressway will be a 98 kilometre road […]

Oct 26, 2011 (LBO) – New vehicles registered in Sri Lanka rose 31 percent to 45,279 in August 2011 from a year earlier, though lower than a peak of 48,157 seen in June, official data showed. Car imports rose 62 percent to 5,055 in August, three wheeler vehicles widely used as taxis rose 30.4 percent […]

Oct 18, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka based Solas Marine has wrapped up a three billion Indian rupee deal to supply 80 fast interceptor craft (FIC) to the Indian Navy, a media report said. India’s IANS news agency said the contract was signed in the last week of September for delivery over three years to […]

Oct 17, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s first expressway which is to be opened in November will be closed for passenger buses, highways minister Nirmala Kothelawala said. The expressway runs from Colombo to Galle. It is Sri Lanka’s first toll road. The road is expected to be opened for traffic in November, the minister said. […]

Oct 16, 2011 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka Ports Authority aims to have a long-delayed online billing system ready by January 2012 with the customs already ready with an electronic payment portal having done test runs. He requested the trade to use parts of the system which were now operational such as filing ‘CusDec’ or […]

Oct 13, 2011 (LBO) – The Sri Lankan state is getting ready to acquire land and pay compensation in the second phase of the project to build a large deep-water port in Hambantota on the south coast. The extent of the submerged rock was missed during initial surveys and the cost of blasting it has […]

Oct 06, 2011 (LBO) – Mediterranean Shipping Company has decided to extend by two years a deal with the Sri Lanka Ports Authority under which it calls at a state-run container terminal in Colombo port. The container shipping line is also interested in investing in new ports being developed in the island, an SLPA statement […]

Sept 29, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s navy is monitoring merchant shipping movements to guard against the threat of attacks by Somali pirates who have been extending their raids further east into the Indian Ocean. The International Maritime Bureau has warned that pirate attacks might extended even further east towards Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka Ports […]

Sept 29, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will borrow around 500 million US dollars from local banks to pay domestic contractors who will pave national highways and provincial roads with concrete. The Cabinet of ministers has approved a proposal by the Ministry of Highways for the project to repair part of the road network, a […]