Transport sector records 9.4% annual growth in 2013
by Uditha Kumarasinghe
The transport sub sector registered a high growth momentum during
2013 by recording an annual growth of 9.4 percent compared to the six
percent growth in 2012.
According to the Annual Report 2013 published by the Central Bank of
Sri Lanka, the development of the country's transport infrastructure
through road and railway network construction together with the
improvement in the rolling stock of the public sector transport services
had contributed largely to the significant expansion in the passenger
transport and goods sub sectors.
Increased domestic mobility such as tourism and leisure contributed
favourably towards the growth in the sub sector. Accordingly, passenger
kilometres operated by the Sri Lanka Transport Board, Sri Lanka Railways
and private bus operators expanded during 2013. Passenger kilometres of
the two national carriers, SriLankan Airlines and Mihin Air had also
increased by 4.7 percent in 2013.
The Bandaranaike International Airport with the newly opened Mattala
Mahinda Rajapaksa International Airport expanded the service
substantially by improving the number of aircraft and passenger
movements by the two airports, the report said.
The passenger kilometres flown by domestic airlines reached 7.8
million, contributing to the value added by the transport sector. |