Opportunity Sri Lanka | » Sri Lanka’s Colombo Port records increase in TEUs in the first quarter of 2018 that is second only to Singapore
Sri Lanka’s Colombo Port records increase in TEUs in the first quarter of 2018 that is second only to Singapore

Sri Lanka’s Colombo Port records increase in TEUs in the first quarter of 2018 that is second only to Singapore

The Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) has reportedly stated that containers handled by the country’s main port in Colombo has grown by 16.2 percent from a year earlier to 1.7 million twenty foot equivalent units (TEUs) in the first quarter of 2018, at a rate only second to Singapore.
Colombo’s transshipment volumes have reportedly recorded a growth of 20.9 percent to 1.32 million TEUs, with March volumes up 19.4 percent to 477,043.
The SLPA has been quoted as saying that only Singapore’s has grown at a faster rate of 16.5 percent among major ports. The SLPA has made this observation quoting a ranking by Alphaliner Monthly, which is a shipping publication.
Other fast growing ports in the region as stated in media reports were Xiamen, China 11.6 percent, Antwerp, Belgium 10.7 percent ad Ningbo-Zhoushan, China at 10.4 percent, which have bigger bases.
Domestic volumes in Colombo were up 1.4 percent to 358,692 with March volumes down 7 percent to 119,375.
Colombo’s first quarter growth was much faster than the 8.3 percent recorded in 2017, when the port handled 6.2 million containers, the SLPA has reportedly stated.
Reports further state that total cargo handling was up 13.4 percent to 25.47 million metric tonnes, with discharged growing 11.6 percent to 15.06 million metric tonnes and loaded cargo up 16 percent to 10.4 million tonnes.

OSL take:

The record increase in the TEUs handled by the Colombo Port is yet another achievement of Sri Lanka’s ports and shipping sector. The increase in the number of containers handled by the Colombo Port indicates the ability of the port to handle such traffic. It also, notes that the Port is on par with the ports of other countries in the region like Singapore and India. Since Sri Lanka is geographically positioned in a prominent location in the Indian Ocean region, the ships handled by the Colombo Port would seen a further increase. This would therefore create the necessity for more developed mechanisms of handling the ships that call at the Port as well as a development in the Port’s infrastructure. All these indicate investment opportunities for foreign businesses.

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Article Code : VBS/AT/20180606/Z_2

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