Shipping
Shipping bigwigs bid to build harbour terminal
Hiran H. Senewiratne
Ports, Aviation and Irrigation Minister Chamal Rajapaksa
recently visited the site and commended the personnel involved
in the project.
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A part of the work on the Hambantota port project has been
completed ahead of schedule. It was due to be completed during
the next six months . |
Two big shipping lines, four Sri Lankan conglomerates, and a Middle
East port operator will bid for the construction of the Colombo South
harbour terminal, Sri Lanka Ports Authority, officials said.
The seven parties have collected the bidding documents and were
present at the pre-bid meeting with Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA)
officials to seek clarifications on the project, officials said.
The Request For Proposals (RFP) to build and operate the first
container in the new South Port of Colombo, being built next to the
existing harbour, was called in mid-February.
Among the notable absentees at the pre-bid meeting were the
front-runners in the previous bidding round, Port of Singapore Authority
(PSA Corp) and Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH) of Hong Kong. However, the
bidding documents can be collected till April 10, officials said.
The four Sri Lankan conglomerates at the pre-bid meeting were John
Keells Holdings, Aitken Spence, Hayleys and Hemas. Another conglomerate
who had bid in the previous round, Carson Cumberbatch, was not present.
Bids will be opened by the Cabinet appointed negotiating committee on
behalf of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority on May 19. Two shipping lines
also took part, Maersk, the world's biggest shipping line, and APL,
another big shipping line.
In addition Gulftainer, a port operator based in Sharjah in the UAE,
and South Asia Gateway Terminals, who manage the Queen Elizabeth Quay
facilities in Colombo were also present. Further, the Colombo South
Development project is expected to complete the construction as
scheduled, SLPA sources said.
The other parties at the pre-bid meeting were Standard Chartered
Bank, Asian Development Bank, which has lent money to build the
breakwater for the new port, and China Harbour Engineering Company, one
of the Chinese contractors building a new port in Southern Hambantota.
Maersk new Senior Director
Gihan Chinthaka Jayaweera has been appointed Senior Director in, A.P.
Moller - Maersk, from yesterday.
Jayaweera, who is a Fellow Member of The Chartered Institute of
Management Accountants (UK) joined A.P. Moller - Maersk Group in 1997 in
Sri Lanka.
He functioned as the Country Finance Manager for the Container
Business and the Country Manager for Maersk Logistics during his time in
Sri Lanka.
He moved to Denmark in 2004 as the General Manager responsible for
the Business Control function in Maersk Logistics and has been holding
progressive positions in the Container Business since then. Prior to
joining A.P. Moller - Maersk Group he worked at KPMG and Vanik
Incorporation Ltd. in Sri Lanka. |