Category: Shipping and Transport

July 24, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka plans to propose reviving ferry services and a railway link with India, across the Palk Straits, at a conference of south Asian transport ministers in Colombo, the island’s transport ministry said.The two proposals will be put forward by the government during a meeting of transport ministers of the […]

July 24, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s draft national transport policy came in for strong criticism at a public forum by experts who said it ignored important modes of private transport and private sector investment. Rohan Samarajiva, head of LirneAsia, a regional think tank, said the policy was also silent on opportunities in rebuilding transport […]

July 23, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka faces a shortage of skilled people in the logistics industry with traditional preferences for other occupations deterring youth from making the sector a career choice, an official said. “There’s a serious shortage of skilled people in the logistics industry,” said Rohan Masakorala, director of the Academy of International […]

July 22, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has drawn up plans to rebuild shattered road networks in the north and east costing over 750 million dollars for which it is seeking foreign funding, a senior government official said.The projects include highways linking the northern Jaffna peninsula with the south, two circular roads around the peninsula […]

July 20, 2009 (LBO) – Better transport infrastructure and services linking northern Sri Lanka with the south would help to bridge the ethnic divide after the end of the war, transport experts said.Had such links existed before the conflict began 30 years ago, they might have helped prevent the war by Tamil Tigers for a […]

July 20, 2009 (LBO) – A Colombo port container terminal in which Sri Lanka’s John Keells Holdings has a big stake said its volumes hit a record monthly high in June 2009, although it was mostly low-margin transhipment traffic. “JKH management stated that it did not expect the loss of business from APL to significantly […]

July 17, 2009 (LBO) – A proposal to build a bridge linking Sri Lanka and Indian across the Palk Straits is to be discussed at a meeting of south Asian transport ministers in Colombo, a senior official said.Amal Kumarage, chairman of the island’s National Transport Commission, said the bridge will help Sri Lanka regain its […]

July 17, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s private sector has been told a host of investment opportunities have emerged in rebuilding transport infrastucture in the north and east, much of which was destroyed or neglected owing to war.Transport specialist Rohan Abeywickrema said there were opportunities to create facilities to link farmers and factories in the […]

July 16, 2009 (LBO) – Private bus operators in Sri Lanka are clamouring for permits to ply the northern Jaffna route with the end of a drawn out civil conflict, Amal Kumarage, chairman of the island’s National Transport Commission said. Government forces defeated the Tamil Tiger rebels in May after a lengthy military campaign and […]

July 13, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is to host a meeting of Asian shippers in Colombo, a conference made possible after 15 years of lobbying because of the end of the ethnic war, the Sri Lanka Shippers’ Council (SLSC) said. The meeting is expected discuss policy issues, maritime security, shipping costs like terminal handling […]

July 10, 2009 (LBO) – Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH) said it did not bid for a container terminal concession at Sri Lanka’s Colombo port for a second time because elements of its original bid were put in the second request for proposals. China is also financing a new port in Sri Lanka’s south in Hambantota.“..HPH […]

July 10, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan ship fuel suppliers in Colombo port are aiming to expand their market by selling bunkers to vessels passing the island, after the break-up of a monopoly lowered prices and boosted volumes, officials said.“We need to improve on that area,” said Kumar. “We need to look at an expanded […]