Category: Shipping and Transport

May 23, 2009 (LBO) –Sri Lanka’s ministry of port’s and aviation has signed an agreement with the government of Japan to recognize the certification of the island’s seafarers. The move will provide opportunities for Sri Lankan to work on Japanese flagged ships in future, the government’s Cabinet office said. At the signing of the agreement, […]

May 05, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is trying to position itself to attract the growing ship lay-up business triggered by the global economic slump and has earmarked safe anchorages for vessels, a senior Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) official said.“We have got clearance from the security authorities now to lay up vessels in safe […]

May 02, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state-run railway needs to charge higher fares and compete with road transport on a level playing field in order to avoid losses, its general manager Lalithasiri Gunaruwan said.He said he was trying to turnaround Sri Lanka Railways through changes in fares and better management. The department has recommended […]

April 29, 2009 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka Ports Authority has extended the deadline for bids for the first container terminal in the new South Port of Colombo, work on which is now underway, officials said.The new port will help Colombo retain and enhance its position as a transhipment hub for the south Asian region, […]

April 28, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state-run railway service has started a goods wagon repair workshop aimed at improving maintenance and more carriage of freight in order to increase revenues, senior officials said.Transport Minister Dallas Alahapperuma said the government wants to reverse years of neglect of the railway that has reduced it to making […]

April 25, 2009 (LBO) – Bunker prices in Colombo port have fallen following a court verdict that ended an effective monopoly on ship fuel held by Sri Lanka’s biggest conglomerate and opened up the market.Shipping lines said price differences with competing ports had also narrowed sharply after the market was liberalized with more suppliers competing […]

April 24, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will decide on whether to call proposals for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) power plant after a study funded by Japan is completed, a senior government official said. Though much cleaner than coal, diesel or furnace oil, LNG, which is kept liquid under high pressure requires expensive infrastructure […]

April 23, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s ship registry, which governments have long promoted with little success, will get six brand new vessels belonging to a group with German interests with close links to the island, starting this year. Two of the ships, multi-purpose vessels being built by a Dutch yard, are owned by Mercantile […]

April 22, 2009 (LBO) – Colombo Dockyard stands to benefit from several concessions being considered in the new draft Sri Lankan government shipping policy, industry officials said.“In the absence of any other local builder capable of meeting local demand, removing such a ceiling will be considered by government as otherwise it would only open the […]

April 16, 2009 (LBO) – Fourteen potential investors have collected bid documents to build and operate a container terminal in a new port coming up next to Colombo harbour, Sri Lankan government officials said. A notable absence is Dubai Ports World, another big global port operator, which is heavily involved in operating container terminals in […]

April 15, 2009 (LBO) – A Chinese contractor building a part of an expressway to Sri Lanka’s south has more than doubled the original contract value following cost escalations and a decision to widen the road.The cost of building the section of road from Kottawa in the suburbs of Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo to Dodangoda, […]

April 15, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s over-staffed and inefficient state-owned bus and railway services made heavy losses in 2008 despite higher revenues after fare increases, the central bank said. Still, despite the average railway fare increase of 42 percent in 2008, it was not enough to generate a profit. “However, the fare revision in […]