Death of domestic for Colombo
The association of Sri Lanka’ s Clearing and Forwarding Agents is lobbying the government with a view to moving all domestic containers away from Colombo port as a means of easing congestion.
In 2006, transhipment traffic at the port grew by 10%, while import/export traffic rose by 5%.
Growth, particularly from India, but also in China, will see even greater use of the port by transhipped boxes in the near future.
It is therefore being argued that new outlets should be found for wholly domestic traffic. In related news, the Asian Development Bank has made available a $300m loan to fund expansion of the port.
The public-private-partnership will require total investment of $780m, with the government providing $180m, while the private sector will stump up the remainder. Project completion is slated for 2010.
Public-sector funds will finance construction of the breakwater, dredging, superstructure relocation and construction of ancillary facilities, while the private sector will concentrate on building a new container terminal and equipping it.