Record for SriLankan Cargo in last year
SriLankan Cargo took a giant step towards becoming the air cargo hub
between the East, West and the Subcontinent, by recording its highest
ever transshipment of freight through Colombo in 2010.
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SriLankan Cargo centre at the BIA |
The new record for transshipment cargo handled in a year at the
SriLankan Cargo Centre at Bandaranaike International Airport is 26,445
metric tonnes.
The earlier record was 25,928 metric tonnes in 2006. The total
transshipment cargo handled in 2010 is an impressive 43 percent increase
over the previous year.
SriLankan's Head of Worldwide Sales Mohamed Fazeel said "SriLankan
Cargo is positioned to serve the booming economies of South Asia -
including India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives - with our 'Hub in the
Ocean' concept.
"With our global route network we link Europe and the Middle East in
the West, Southeast Asia and the Far East in the East, and the
Subcontinent," he said.
The 156,142 tonnes of all types of cargo in 2010 - Imports, Exports,
and Transshipments - is the third highest ever total handled at BIA in a
single year, and is a tremendous 23 percent increase over year 2009.
Cargo Operations Manager Janaka Munasinghe, said: "SriLankan Cargo is
the sole ground handler at BIA and serves all airlines, charters,
freighters, and private aircraft.
"In 2010 we doubled the handling capacity at our Cargo Centre by
commissioning a new Exports Terminal, and we are now placed to serve as
a cargo hub for South Asia far into the future. We now have capacity to
handle up to 300,000 metric tonnes of cargo in a year," he said.
The 2,820 metric tonnes of transshipment cargo handled in December
2010 was also an all-time record for a single month, surpassing the
2,637 metric tonnes of December 2006.
The new terminal is being equipped with state-of-the-art facilities
for perishables, courier cargo, post office mail, a customer
facilitation centre, cold rooms and chiller rooms, seven acceptance
bays, a customs safe vault for valuables, an animal holding room, and
areas for animal and plant quarantine offices.
Palette build-up stations and barcode scanners will enhance handling
efficiency, and CCTV will provide increased security throughout the
premises.
SriLankan's global route network will expand to 51 cities in 31
countries with the addition of two more destinations - Guangzhou and
Kochi - by March 2011.Sri Lankan Cargo |
