Category: Shipping and Transport

Nov 10, 2010 (LBO) – South Asia Gateway Terminals (SAGT), an associate of Sri Lankan conglomerate John Keells Holdings, said volumes rose 17 percent in October to 173,528 containers from a year ago. SAGT is 42.2 percent owned by JKH and has been contributing a big chunk of the conglomerate’s profits in recent years, along […]

November 3, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka plans to spend a billion dollars in foreign aid to rebuild roads as the island emerges from nearly four decades of ethnic fighting, a top official said Wednesday. Sri Lanka’s Highways Ministry Secretary Wasantha Karannagoda said they had secured funding to rebuild and repair nearly 4,000 kilometres (2,500 […]

Nov 04, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is to enter into a credit agreement with India’s Export – Import Bank for an Indian government soft loan of 416 million US dollars to rebuild railways destroyed by war, a spokesman said. Media minister Keheliya Rambukwelle said the funds will be used to rebuild three sections of […]

Nov 04, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Telecom is on track to get a deal to install a fibre optic cable for a toll collection system on an expressway linking the island’s south that is now under construction. These will be in the towns of Konawa, Kahatuduwa, Gelanigama, Dodangoda, Welipenna, Kurundugahahetekma, Nayapamula, Pinnaduwa, Deegoda, Kokmaduwa […]

Nov 02, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Colombo Dockyard has been short-listed in a contract to build more passenger ferries for an Indian government customer, having completed delivery of two vessels, officials said. The new vessels to be ordered are bigger, being capable of carrying 400 passengers and 250 tonnes of cargo. Jitendra Kumar Dadoo, […]

Nov 02, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka imported over 10,000 cars in the four months after import duty was slashed in June this year while state revenue has also soared, a senior finance ministry official said. The tax reduction brought down excise duty on a Maruti car, a popular model, to 90 percent from 183 […]

Oct 29, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Colombo Dockyard delivered the second of a pair of passenger vessels for an Indian customer but warned profitability could dip this year owing to the effects of recession and growing competition. The island’s 30-year ethnic war ended in May 2009 leading to the removal of marine war-risk insurance […]

Oct 28, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shipbuilder Colombo Dockyard has secure contracts for two 78-metre Multipurpose Platform Supply Vessels (MPSVs) for Greatship Global Offshore Services of Singapore, a statement said. The vessels, to support offshore oil and gas fields around the clock, are scheduled for delivery in the fourth quarter of the 2012 financial […]

Oct 22, 2010 (LBO) – A new port being built in Sri Lanka’s southern Hambantota has drawn investment proposals from local and foreign businesses including the local Senok Combine and Micro Car for vehicle assembly, officials said. The second phase will expand and deepen the harbour, adding more berths and cranes to handle containers. Madras […]

Oct 15, 2010 (LBO) – India and Sri Lanka have agreed on and initialled a draft agreement to resume ferry services between the two neighbours that was disrupted by the island’s ethnic war, a statement said. “The two sides agreed on the text of the Memorandum of Understanding for passenger transportation by sea between the […]

Oct 14, 2010 (LBO) – The increase in cargo flows from India generated by accelerating economic growth will ensure business for a new container terminal that Sri Lanka’s Aitken Spence is investing in, an official said. “India’s economic growth in 2018 is expected to surpass China’s,” Dissanayake said. “When the economy grows they will handle […]

Oct 11, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s logistics and transport bottlenecks will come under scrutiny at an international conference this week where partnerships between the public and private sectors will also be considered, officials said. The island now has an opportunity to rebuild its transport infrastructure which was neglected or destroyed during the 30-year ethnic […]