Sri Lanka could be developed as a major logistics hub

Hiran H.Senewiratne

Sri Lanka could be developed as a major logistic hub in the region due to its strategic location and ideal business/market position in the country, where the logistics and warehouse sectors are concerned said, Chief Executive Officer DHL Global Forwarding Freight Hermann Ude.

The company is focusing on the logistics solution business in three main areas including fashion, healthcare and technology in the Asian region.

Therefore, Sri Lanka is an important location to promote businesses due to the strategic location and its operational efficiency, Ude told Daly News Business.

Ude who was in Sri Lanka last week on an inspection tour in the Asian region met key Government officials and the BOI chairman Dhammika Perera said that DHL is the largest logistics and express company in the world concentrating mainly in warehousing, global forwarding (sea and air) and believes that Sri Lanka is a good place to do business due to its proper legal framework and its strategic location. Ude was the first high ranking official from the company to visit Sri Lanka.

Ude said that they have been operating their business for over 26 years and have several business plans in Sri Lanka with the dawn of peace and normalcy in the country and are looking for more expansion in business operations especially in warehouse capabilities in fashion, healthcare and technology.

He said that Sri Lanka is one of the global gateways for traffic where logistics are concerned and is an ideal location to be promoted as a transshipment hub in the region to serve Indian, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

The company has drawn up several plans to invest in Sri Lanka to position it as a distribution/logistic hub with modern warehouse and other logistic infrastructure in the country, he said.

Ude said that the logistic industry recorded a negative impact from the global financial crisis and they operate in 220 countries. Sri Lanka is one of the important gateways out of the six for logistic and warehouse business activities of the company.

The high economic growth momentum in India could reap benefits for Sri Lanka as a transshipment hub due to the increasing number of cargo both air and sea, he said.

The company invested US $ 8 million on a new office, IT development with the first-ever GSP tracking service to Sri Lanka for cargo and a Fashion and Apparel Centre for Excellence in Sri Lanka and many more to enhance and strengthen the Sri Lanka business operations. They also introduced an innovative system called the Textiner concept for the apparel industry for the first time in Sri Lanka, he said.