Ports Authority to strengthen regional maritime industry

With the ongoing development projects in the port sector Sri Lanka will strengthen the regional maritime industry than never before said the Managing Director of Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) Capt. Nihal Keppetipola.

Ongoing construction work at Hambantota Port.

Welcoming the inaugural call of the Hoegh Autoliners at the Colombo Port he said that SLPA plans to utilize thousands of acres of land around the newly built Hambantota Port for warehousing, grinding and processing operations for cement and fertilizer, assembly yards for car manufacturers and also as a free zone. “Also we could see many lines arriving here for Ro-Ro operations in the future he said.

M. V. Hoegh Kyoto, carrying 133 vehicles, made her inaugural call to Colombo Port at the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) last week.

The Master of the Ship Capt. Rohit Gupta conveying his confidence on SLPA stated that Sri Lanka is a strategic place for transshipment and would like to see that more vessels are coming in.

Hoegh Autoliners is a leading global provider of Ro/Ro vehicle transportation services based in Oslo.

It has a global network of 30 subsidiaries and representative offices in Europe, North America, Asia and Africa.

The Company turnover is about US$ 1.3 bn (2007) and it has approximately 600 employees ashore and 1500 seafarers.

Hoegh Autoliners who had suspended their services to Colombo for a considerable time are looking at strengthening their presence in Colombo, with the maiden call of the M. V. Hoegh Kyoto, at SLPA and its the beginning of the new service under the Middle East-India-Africa service,