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‘Colombo Port geared to handle 13 million TEUs by 2017’

“There will be more and more consolidation within the shipping industry both in capacity and relationship levels. Ships have got bigger and bigger.


Capt Nihal Keppetipola – Managing Director of SLPA making the presentation
on “The Colombo Port Expansion Project (CPEP) at the Southern Asia Ports, Logistics and Shipping 2012.

Ports of Sri Lanka are equal to any other in the world, in terms of equipment, in the task of handling mega vessels coming out of the order book. Four hundred meters quay length of the East Container Terminal (ECT) of Colombo Port Expansion Project(CPEP) will be ready by the third quarter of 2013 and 600 meters quay length of Colombo International Container Terminal (CICT) will be ready by the third quarter of 2014.

By the time, the West Container Terminal (WCT) becomes up and running in 2017, the Port of Colombo will be geared to handle 13 million TEUs,” says Capt Nihal Keppetipola, Managing Director of Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA).

He made these comments at the Southern Asia Ports, Logistics and Shipping 2012 Exhibition and Conference kicked off with great fanfare at Cinnamon Grand Hotel in Colombo recently. Being set on this occasion for the first time in Colombo for two days, this event is in its 7th consecutive year to be held in Southern Asia. It is the largest annual Container Ports, Shipping and Transport Logistics Exhibition and Conference event in Southern Asia. The event is co-hosted by Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA).

Speaking further on the Colombo Port Expansion Project (CPEP) Capt Nihal Keppetipola, Managing Director of SLPA opined that analyzing the distribution and volume movement trends in the regions of Asia/Med and Far East/North Europe, current global logistics networks, and their alliances such as G6, CKYH, Maersk, MSC/CMA-CGM,“we can rest assured that Sri Lanka is definitely ahead of the race in port construction”.

He also stated that the SLPA has contemplated in regard to handling the demand of the ISC Cargo which is forecast at 40 million TEUs by 2020, “ SLPA will open up phase II of the port of Hambantota for container operations by that time,” he said.

The 7th Southern Asia Ports, Logistics and Shipping 2012 comprised both a world-class exhibition and conference and featured 35 world-class speakers in global logistics and transport. The event attracted a crowd of more than 250 senior executives from the world’s leading ports, shipping lines, cargo owners, shippers, freight forwarders, logistics companies, terminal operators, railway operators and port-rail service equipment suppliers from over 30 countries. The two-day Trade Exhibition of nearly 60 international exhibition stands provided a valuable opportunity for companies to market their products and services to participants at the prestigious annual event.

This annual maritime transport exhibition and conference event had also been designed with a view to promoting maritime transportation in the region.

Responding to questions raised by the audience Capt Keppetipola said, “Although a port possesses latest equipment, sophisticated IT systems or huge rail-road connectivity, it cannot turn a vessel around in quicker time, unless there is a dedicated human resource to man the equipment. In certain ports, plans are afoot to operate them sans human beings by deploying apparatus such as automated/automatic guided vehicles (AGV). But in this part of the world our operations very much depend on efficient and dedicated labour. In SLPA there are 26 recognized trade unions. At no time has any of them brought country's politics into the port and the state run JCT has been running smoothly due to the confidence the employees have on the management and the sound administrative proceeding adapted by the SLPA.

 

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