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| Sunday, 4 July 2004 |
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Car-cargo bonding house facilities outside Colombo Port to be allowed by Hiran H.Senewiratne Under the Sri Lanka Customs surveillance, the Sri Lanka Port Authority (SLPA) will allow common car- cargo bonding house facilities for private parties outside the Colombo Port, in order to facilitate vehicle transhipment in the future. At present, large number of Indian vehicles are coming into the country for transshipment along with local imports, creating a major logistical problem at the SLPA, a top official attached to the Authority, said. He said that at present Toyota (Lanka) Ltd and Associated Motor Ways (AMW) have requested the SLPA to bond their imported vehicles outside the port. According to reliable sources, AMW would like to be given permission for a car bonding house in SLPA-owned land, which would also be a solution to the current space problem at the port owing to the accumulation of several numbers of vehicles and other cargo at the port, a leading ports analyst said. However, an interested Malaysian company did a feasibility study recently on the possible construction of a 10 storey conventional, urban- style car- cargo storage on Ports Authority- leased land, the analyst said. This Malaysian company in underwriting capital investment of the project, seeks in this proposal appropriate guarantees and commitments from the SLPA. Acting Director of Customs Impact (Bond) Division W.A Chandradasa said that , it was an excellent idea to have a car- cargo bonding house facility outside the Colombo Port as a solution to the space problem in the port. He said that vehicles are being brought into the country both as local imports and trans-shipment, and it is the need of the hour to have Custom's bonded premises for motor vehicles. These car- cargo bonding warehouses should be managed under the Sri Lanka Customs surveillance and be gazetted as Customs- bonded premises, Chandradasa said. Chairman, K Port (Pvt) Ltd M. Kamil Kuthubdeen said that they are in the process of promoting the common bonding facility for other cargo as well. He said that any party can store cargo under Custom's Control.If it is a sizeable one it could be used for processing of cargo for trans-shipment as well He said that it is an ideal opportunity to promote entrepot trade in the country in a big way. K Port is now in the process of establishing the country's first dry port. " We will promote THE bonding concept for other cargo as well," Kuthubdeen said. |
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