Sri Lanka’s Hambantota Port business improved by new terminal handling system
Commercial and Marketing Manager for Sri Lanka’s Hambantota International Port Group (Pvt) Ltd. (HIP), Nishantha Gamage has reportedly said that a new terminal handling system and along with moves towards automation has helped the port improve business.
Gamage has described the port’s progress at two international port industry summits in Singapore recently.
At the Port Maintenance and Facilities Summit 2019, HIP had been a subject of interest during the discussion sessions, where questions had been asked on the methodology used to double the port’s volumes, a press statement has noted.
“I explained that the main factors were improvement of service quality, our zero-accident concept coupled with high productivity, introducing new bulk terminal Operating systems (BTOS) to ensure accuracy of the operation, and a clear marketing strategy to attract new business,” he has been quoted as saying.
“I shared our success with the new Terminal Service Agreements signed with major RORO (roll-on, roll-off) partners, as well as the new investment on equipment that enabled us to handle any kind of RORO cargo at HIP.”
The ‘Public Private Partnership’ with global port operator CMPort was another aspect taken up during the panel discussions, giving Gamage the opportunity to explain how their global partner’s experience and best practices model benefits HIP in its business development and operations.
Meanwhile, at the Equip Global Port Automation Summit 2019, Gamage had reportedly made a presentation on a step-by-step approach to automation in brownfield ports to ensure high operational performance.
He had described how Sri Lankan ports such as HIP and Colombo are moving towards automation, with projects like Rubber Tired Gantry electrification and auto gate and ‘remote quality control’.
OSL take:
The government of Sri Lanka is focused on making the country a maritime hub in the Indian Ocean region. Many development programmes have been carried out to achieve this target creating many business/investment opportunities in the process. Also, the development in Sri Lanka’s maritime sector has increased business/investment opportunities in Sri Lanka’s maritime industry.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/11102019/Z_3 |