Transport & Logistics
From The Report: Sri Lanka 2017
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Situated close to some of the world’s most important sea lanes, connecting the Asian, African and European continents, Sri Lanka has some major strategic advantages when it comes to global transport links. At the same time, this island of nearly 21m people lies just off the coast of one of the world’s largest and fastest-developing economies – India – while enjoying excellent relations with another global leader, China. Both have helped give Sri Lanka a strong foundation on which to further develop its transport and logistics infrastructure, with the goal of becoming an international hub for those countries now firmly in view.

This chapter contains interviews with Dammika Ranatunga, Chairman, Sri Lanka Ports Authority; and Kasturi Chellaraja, Managing Director for Pharmaceuticals, Logistics and Maritime, Hemas Holdings.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Grand designs: Major upgrades to ports and roads are in the works, with the aim of bolstering Sri Lanka’s position as a centre for transport
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Situated close to some of the world’s most important sea lanes, connecting the Asian, African and European continents, Sri Lanka has some major strategic advantages when it comes to global transport links. At the same time, this island of nearly 21m people lies just off the coast of one of the world’s largest and fastest-developing economies – India – while enjoying excellent relations with another global leader, China. Both have helped give Sri Lanka a strong foundation on which…

Analysis

On the move: A new trans-shipment facility, road network improvements and Customs reforms look set to give the sector a boost
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A large part of the Sri Lankan logistics sector is given over to the trans-shipment business. As a leading centre for goods ultimately bound for India and other South Asian markets, along with East Africa, Asia and the Gulf, the country’s ports and airports provide important stops for repackaging, warehousing, redistributing and palletising a huge range of goods. The country is also rapidly developing its e-commerce segment, as the logistics of the internet poses a new challenge for an…

Interview

Smooth sailing: Dammika Ranatunga, Chairman, Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA), on positioning the Colombo port for future traffic
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Interview: Dammika Ranatunga To what extent can the SLPA encourage capacity building of port activities? DAMMIKA RANATUNGA: Port development in Sri Lanka is not powered by the generation of imports and exports, as the economy is too small to support a large hub port with gateway cargo like those ports serving larger economies. Therefore, any port development has to focus on the demand for trans-shipment and related logistics businesses instead of domestic market growth. Accordingly, the SLPA has…

Interview

Trading up: Kasturi Chellaraja, Managing Director for Pharmaceuticals, Logistics and Maritime, Hemas Holdings, on developing international trade ties
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Interview: Kasturi Chellaraja What role can strategic foreign partners play in fulfilling Sri Lanka’s maritime aspirations? KASTURI CHELLARAJA: Sri Lanka’s vision is to become a global logistics and maritime hub, and we’ve been on the journey to become one since the olden days. Having an advantageous location is essential, but not enough – the country needs to add infrastructure developments and service industry growth, as well as the trade agreements and policy to back it. Sri Lanka needs…

Analysis

Road ready: Highways are set for major expansion as the rest of the network undergoes rehabilitation
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Sri Lanka has the highest road density of any country in South Asia, with some 173.9 km of roads per 100 sq km of land as of 2015, according to the World Bank. This compares with 139.4 km in India and 32.86 km in Pakistan. In 2012 roads also carried around 93% of all passenger traffic and 97% of all domestic freight traffic – figures which are unlikely to have altered much since. Backbone Thus, the nation’s highways are the mainstay of the domestic transport sector. Its road network…