Category: Shipping and Transport

HAMBANTOTA, August 15, 2010 (AFP) – A China-funded port in Sri Lanka will be a symbol of Colombo’s non-partisan foreign policy, the president said Sunday amid Indian concerns over Beijing’s interests in the region. President Mahinda Rajapakse marked a key milestone in the construction of the 1.5 billion-dollar port in the southern Sri Lankan town […]

Aug 12, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s People’s Leasing Company has ordered 1,000 buses from India’s Ashok Leyland as post-war growth increases demand for passenger travel, a statement said. Ashok Leyland said in a Bombay Stock Exchange the 1,000-bus order from People’s Leasing in Sri Lanka was worth 26 million US dollars and partly funded […]

HAMBANTOTA, August 12, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka is preparing to open the first phase of a China-funded, 1. 5-billion-dollar port project that has fuelled Indian concerns over strategic Chinese investment in South Asia. Sitting along the ancient “Silk Road” trading route and one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, the Hambantota port is intended […]

Aug 11, 2010 (LBO) – Lanka Ashok Leyland, an Indo-Lanka joint venture importing and assembling buses has reported a sharp increase in profit and sales as post-war demand increases demand for passenger transport. The government-owned Lanka Leyland has a 41.77 percent stake in Lanka Ashok Leyland and Ashok Leyland of India a 27.85 percent stake […]

Aug 10, 2010 (LBO) – Container volumes at a Colombo port private terminal run by an associate firm of John Keells Holdings rose in July as harbour delays were sorted out and trade continued to grow, latest data showed. South Asia Gateway Terminals, a key contributor to JKH’s bottomline, handled 173,085 TEUs or twenty-foot equivalent […]

Aug 06, 2010 (LBO) – The Sri Lankan government said it has got Asian Development Bank funding to start work on an expressway between Colombo and Kandy in the central hills that will cut travel time to less than an hour. Transport ministry secretary Wasantha Karannagoda said the ADB had promised 500 million dollars over […]

RIYADH, August 2, 2010 (AFP) – A Saudi insurance company is to pay Somali pirates a 20-million-dollar ransom to free a hijacked ship and its 14-member crew held hostage for five months, a newspaper reported on Monday. “The owner of the Al-Nisr Al-Saudi ship, which was hijacked by Somali pirates, said the insurance company has […]

July 28, 2010 (LBO) – Several batches of transport professionals will graduate from Sri Lankan universities and academies this year, easing a skills shortfall as the island seeks to become a hub for the region, an official said. “This program which is offered through the Faculty of Engineering will produce graduates especially skilled in professional […]

July 27, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has not paid some owners of land acquired by the state for infrastructure for 25-years, and a total of 8. 5 billion rupees remains unpaid for property taken to expand roads, an official said. Vokes said the guide was developed with the help of Sri Lanka’s Road Development […]

July 27, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has asked for 500 million US dollars from the Asian Development Bank to build a new highway from the island’s capital Colombo which will speed up traffic to the north, officials said. “We are having discussions with the government,” ADB’s country director Richard Vokes told LBO. “We have […]

July 26, 2010 (LBO) – Shipping lines calling at Colombo port may have to raise freight rates to cover losses in recent years and return to profitability, Sri Lankan ship agents representing liners have said. Nimal Ranchigoda, chairman of the Ceylon Association of Ships’ Agents, said the shipping industry was in “dire straits” last year […]

July 23, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shipping agents said they are concerned over delays at Colombo port although they expect the situation to improve with new equipment and transport arrangements for moving containers. “Colombo port’s total cargo volumes have seen a growth of 23.6 percent to-date compared with last year,” Ranchigoda told the CASA […]