SLPA to promote joint ventures

Indunil Hewage

Sri Lanka Ports Authority Chairman Priyath Bandu Wickrama said SLPA was promoting joint ventures in terminal operations, terminal management and consultancy services and providing training facilities on port related disciplines.

SLPA also intends to invite offers from the port and terminal developer for the construction and operation of the West terminal of Colombo Port expansion project.

He made these sentiments addressing a conference on 'Sri Lanka Ports, Trade and Logistics,' held in Colombo recently."We have observed that Indian Sub continent is highly active in petroleum products and therefore, opportunities are created for Sri Lanka to facilitate oil and gas markets particularly in India. We could create oil and gas facilities in such a manner to connect East and West Coasts of India.

Sri Lanka has already called for bids for issuance of Oil and gas exploration licenses to explore petroleum resources within the territorial waters of Sri Lanka. SLPA has plans to develop off shore services for deep draught vessels as a regional industrial and service centre.

Steps are being taken to develop multi model connectivity between logistics centres by maintaining international network of sea, air, roads and rail to facilitate port users to receive their cargo at their warehouses and to transport products from the factories to the warehouses of the buyers in an efficient safe and reliable manner," Wickrama said.

In a bid to ensure smooth and efficient flow of vehicular traffic from and to the port, internal port roads have been widened. Dry ports or cargo villages were also been set up to extend actual benefits of the inter-modal transport ensuring faster turn round times of vessels trucks and transfer of cargo and containers.