The Port Authority
plans to open a
second gate in the
Colombo port for the
first time in a
decade, aiming to
boost traffic after
the end of a 25-year
war, a top port
official said on
Thursday.
"We will be opening
the north gate in a
couple of days," Sri
Lanka Ports
Authority Chairman
Priyath B. Wickrama
told Reuters. "This
will help to improve
our vessel
turnaround time and
we can accommodate
more ships."
The port handled a
record 3.68 million
TEUs (Twenty-foot
equivalents) last
year. Wickrama said
he expected vessel
turnaround time to
improve by 6-7 hours
because of the
change.
Port officials said
the north gate had
been shut for 10
years due to
security threats
from the Tamil
Tigers rebels, who
were wiped out in
May.
Sri Lanka since the
end of the war has
been vying for hub
status in the Asian
maritime industry
supported by its
strategic location
on the world map
between the east and
the west.
