Category: Shipping and Transport

July 21, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan ship builder Colombo Dockyard has begun building a ferry for passengers in the former northern war zone using a new yard on a river close to Colombo port, a statement said. The 100-passenger launch is being built for the state-owned Road Development Authority and will be used to […]

July 16, 2010 (LBO) – Indian and Chinese companies have been awarded two deals to modernise and rebuild parts of Sri Lanka’s railway network damaged by war and extend tracks, a government statement said. Indian and Chinese firms have already been given contracts to rebuild or modernise other parts of the rail network in the […]

July 15, 2010 (LBO) – International insurers have removed Sri Lanka from their cargo war risk insurance list paving the way for reduced import costs, removal of surcharges and increasing business confidence, a government statement said. “Post-war economic revival would be greatly boosted with increased business confidence, reduction of the cost of imports, removal of […]

July 8, 2010 (LBO) – A deal to build a container terminal in an expanded Colombo port will be awarded to a China – Sri Lanka consortium within ‘two to three weeks’ Treasury Secretary P B Jayasundera said. Sri Lanka’s listed Aitken Spence and China Merchant Holdings, a state-run port operator, were the only bidder […]

July 07, 2010 (LBO) – Container volume growth at a Colombo port private terminal run by an associate firm of John Keells Holdings slowed down sharply in June after surging in previous months, latest data shows. South Asia Gateway Terminals, a big contributor to JKH profits, handled 158,652 TEUs or twenty-foot equivalent container units (TEUs) […]

June 29, 2010 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka Ports Authority is providing more space at its main container terminal for freight to ease congestion, SLPA managing director Nihal Keppetipola said. New port projects under way at Colombo as well as in southern Hambantota and eastern Trincomalee will also provide large extents of land for logistics, […]

June 28, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo is to be expanded out to sea on reclaimed land with material dredged to build a new port, providing opportunities for businesses and citizens alike, an official said. The Sri Lanka Ports Authority is in charge of the project to create a new ‘port city’, its […]

June 28, 2010 (LBO) – The permanent secretariat of the Asian Shippers’ Council (ASC), the world’s largest shippers’ body, has been located at the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce in Sri Lanka, a statement said. ASC consists of 20 shippers’ councils from 16 countries in the five regions covering Asia and Oceania. Its permanent secretariat was […]

June 26, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s private bus sector can push up revenues by about 20 percent by cutting leakages with an online ticket machine, but the subsidy-happy operators want taxpayer support help them earn bigger profits. “On average about daily ticket collection are lost due to leakages in the system,” Amal S Kumarage, […]

June 23, 2010 (LBO) The Sri Lanka ports Authority has signed a contract with a Chinese firm, China Harbour Engineering Company, to start the second phase of a new port in Hambantota on the south coast, a statement said. Phase two of the project will include further excavation of the site for the harbor basin […]

June 22, 2010 (LBO) – A steep tax cut on vehicle imports in Sri Lanka has injected life into the almost comatose car trade, but some dealers are stubbornly holding onto high prices hoping that the lower tax regime will not last too long. They are appealing to the fear and greed of buyers. While […]

June 13, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan ports are now free of any extra war risk-related insurance premiums following the removal of the island from the area listed for war risk by international underwriters, a government statement said. The Sri Lanka Ports Authority said the move followed a visit to the island by a security […]