Colombo Port sees volume growth

Marketing plan for expansions needed:

Sanjeevi JAYASURIYA

Measures taken to improve efficiency levels in the Colombo Port will attract more business for the country.

Sri Lanka needs to have best practices, competitive prices and best in service quality to facilitate volume growth, State Enterprise Management Agency (SEMA) (Ports and Aviation) Senior Consultant and Shippers’ Academy Colombo Chief Executive Officer Rohan Masakorala told Daily News Business.

“The regional pie for the shipping business is big and Sri Lanka was able to attract new businesses whenever the country increased the capacity in terms of terminals and berths,” he said.

“The most important aspect is to have a proper marketing plan focused on emerging industry opportunities,” he said. The entire region will see a continuous port sector related development and India would play a dominant role in the shipping industry. The Indian port development and new ports coming into action will further enhance the regional capacity and thereby be globally competitive. Sri Lanka should aim at 20 percent of the total Indian throughput the country has the capacity to handle at present. The vessel operator decides which port to use for its transshipment facility and pricing plays a major role. Sri Lanka could be competitive to generate more businesses.

The regional ports development, especially the Indian ports will hamper volumes in the medium-term but the country could recover in the long run.