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Dr.Priyath
B.Wickrama –
Chairman of SLPA
making the keynote
address at the
Southern Asia Ports,
Logistics and
Shipping 2012. |
Foreign and local
delegates at the
Southern Asia Ports,
Logistics and
Shipping 2012.
|
Capt.Nihal
Keppetipola –
Managing Director of
SLPA making the
presentation on “The
Colombo Port
Expansion Project
(CPEP) at the
Southern Asia Ports,
Logistics and
Shipping 2012. |
The Southern Asia Ports, Logistics and Shipping 2012 Exhibition and
Conference kicked off with
great fanfare at Cinnamon
Grand Hotel in Colombo,
yesterday, the 26th
of April.
Being set on this occasion
for the first time in
Colombo for two days, this
event is in its 7th
consecutive year to be held
in Southern Asia. It is the
largest annual Container
Ports, Shipping and
Transport Logistics
Exhibition and Conference
event in Southern Asia. The
event is co-hosted by Sri
Lanka Ports Authority
(SLPA).
The 7th Southern Asia Ports, Logistics and Shipping 2012
comprises both a world-class
Exhibition and Conference.
It will feature on these two
days thirty-five (35)
world-class speakers in
global logistics and
transport and it is expected
that the event would attract
a crowd of more than five
hundred (500) senior
executives from the world’s
leading ports, shipping
lines, cargo owners,
shippers, freight
forwarders, logistics
companies, terminal
operators, railway operators
and port-rail service
equipment suppliers from
over thirty (30) countries.
There will be a two-day
Trade Exhibition of nearly
sixty (60) international
exhibition stands providing
a valuable opportunity for
companies to market their
products and services to
participants at this
prestigious annual event.
This annual maritime transport Exhibition and Conference event has
been designed with a view to
promoting maritime
transportation in the region
and the event organizer had
arranged a pre-conference
port tour to the Port of
Colombo on Wednesday, the 25th
for Conference Participants
to witness for themselves
all of the port’s existing
facilities including
terminals such as Jaya
Container Terminal (JCT),
Unity Container terminal
(UCT), South Asia Gateway
Terminals (SAGT) and the
current progress of the
Colombo Port Expansion
Project.
Logistics in general comprises sea and air transport and is a
sizable growth market world
wide. Valued at about US$
320 billion per year, the
industry is growing at an
annual rate of 3 - 10%. Over
the years, the industry has
evolved in sophistication
with service offerings
ranging from individual
transport and storage
solutions to customized
supply chain management
services. As the pace of
Public Private Partnerships
and outsourcing gathers
momentum, the industry is
likely to enjoy continual
growth with new supply chain
management features and
other value-added services.
The first day of the Conference composed of three (03) sessions
covering areas such as the
future of Supply Chain and
Maritime Logistics of Sri
Lanka, Challenges and
Opportunities for industry
players and total Supply
Chain and Logistics
Operational Excellence. The
Keynote address was
delivered by Dr. Priyath B.
Wickrama, Chairman, Sri
Lanka Ports Authority and
among the other
distinguished speakers on
the first day were Capt.
Nihal Keppetipola, Managing
Director, Sri Lanka Ports
Authority, Dr. Parakrama
Dissanayake, Chairman and
CEO, Aitken Spence Maritime,
Sri Lanka, Mr. Martin Young,
Chief Resident Engineer,
URS/Scott Wilson, United
Kingdom, Dr. Rashid Al Leem,
Director General, Hamriyah
Free Zone Authority, UAE,
Dr. Hu Jianhua, Managing
Director, China Merchant
Holdinds International China
and Dr. Neville
Goonewardena, Director
General of Customs, Sri
Lanka.
In his Keynote address Chairman, SLPA Dr. Wickrama said that
Sri Lanka Ports Authority was delighted to co-host this event and
was prepared to
do its utmost to make the
conference as productive,
beneficial and significant
as possible.
“Sri Lanka needs a paradigm
shift in its Port
Development Strategy. The
most modern port development
strategy –
Transforming port from mere
interface between maritime
transport and land transport
into hub of seamless
logistics chain and
logistics value-creator or
value-adder -
has come to stay and this
will be the next wave of
port development strategy to
be followed by Sri Lanka in
time to come” he said.
Dr. Wickrama further noted, “Today, major shipping lines call over
at the Port of Colombo,
primarily to transship the
volumes of containers to the
Indian Sub Continent (ISC).
Almost 60 percent of Sri
Lanka’s transshipment is
bound for India. Unless, Sri
Lanka increases
substantially its base cargo
in the form of export
products to the USA, Europe
and Asia, Sri Lanka may not
be in an envious position to
lure main line vessels.
Attracting Foreign Direct
Investment for
export-oriented industries
is one model for generating
base cargo and at the same
time it also helps economic
take-off for developing
countries. The volume of
base cargo could also be
increased by expanding Sri
Lanka’s services in the form
of value addition through
Sri Lanka. It could be
offered by way of developing
logistics capabilities to
provide the most modern
warehousing infrastructure
facilities for temporary
storage and deliver through
“Just-in-time” supply chain
management systems to large
manufacturing companies for
example, in the neighbouring
Indian Sub Continent
countries”.
Capt. Nihal Keppetipola, Managing Director, Sri Lanka Ports
Authority, making a
presentation on “The Colombo
Port Expansion Project
(CPEP)” opined that
analyzing the distribution
and volume movement trends
in the regions of Asia/Med
and Fareast/North Europe,
current global logistics
networks, and their
alliances such as G6,
CKYH, Maersk, MSC/CMA-CGM,
we can rest assured that Sri
Lanka is definitely ahead of
the race in Port
Construction.
Capt. Keppetipola went on to
say, “There will be more and
more consolidation within
the industry both in
capacity and relationship
levels. Ships have got
bigger and bigger. Ports of
Sri Lanka are equal, in
terms of equipment, to the
task of handling mega
vessels coming out of the
order book. Four hundred
(400) meters quay length of
East Container Terminal
(ECT) of CPEP will be ready
by the third quarter of 2013
and six hundred (600) meters
quay length of Colombo
International Container
Terminal (CICT) will be
ready by the 3rd
quarter of 2014. By the
time, the West Container
Terminal (WCT) becomes up
and running in 2017, Port of
Colombo will be geared to
handle thirteen (13) million
TEUs.
In response to a question
raised by a member of the
audience concerning the
plans, the SLPA has
contemplated in regard to
handling the demand of the
ISC Cargo which is forecast
at 40 million TEUs by the
year 2020, Capt. Keppetipola
stated SLPA will open up
phase II of the Port of
Hambantota for Container
Operations by that time.
Responding to another
question raised by the
audience Capt. Keppetipola
said “Although a port
possesses latest equipment,
sophisticated IT systems or
huge rail-road connectivity,
it cannot turn a vessel
around in quicker time,
unless there is a dedicated
human resource to man the
equipment. In certain ports,
plans are afoot to operate
them sans human beings by
deploying apparatus such as
Automated/Automatic Guided
Vehicles (AGV). But in this
part of the world our
operations very much depend
on efficient and dedicated
labor. In SLPA there are
twenty six (26) recognized
Trade Unions to be dealt
with. Even though the
Private Terminal within the
Port of Colombo (SAGT)
experienced a go-slow last
month, the state-run JCT,
without any ripple effect,
ran smoothly due to the
sound administrative
procedures adopted by SLPA.
(CPRD26042012)
