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| Sunday, 9 June 2002 |
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Second runway for Colombo Airport by SUREKHA GALAGODA The 29th Executive Council Meeting of the Federation of Asia Pacific Air cargo Association (FAPAA) was held last week in Colombo. Civil Aviation, Transport and Highways and Defence Minister, Tilak Marapane, addressing the inaugural session, said he has already submitted a Cabinet paper to acquire the land to construct a second runway for the Colombo Airport. "We are also discussing with Emirates to review its management agreement with SriLankan Airlines," he said. "Our aim is to improve infrastructure facilities and technology in the aviation sector so that when the ongoing peace initiative brings a permanent solution to the country's ethnic problem, we would have better prospects for developing the country," the Minister said. Minister Marapane said there were three essential elements to promote the air cargo sector in Sri Lanka. They are establishing a healthy climate for the industry to progress, making maximum use of the country's geographical location and improving infrastructure to facilitate the sector. "The Government is deregularising and demonopolising vital economic activities. We are having talks with Emirates to review the monopoly over essential aviation operations such as ground handling. Our aim is to make our skies open for any international airline, which would augur well for the air cargo industry too," he said. "We are also increasing the available space for cargo handling at the Colombo airport. The lack of essential knowledge and exposure on the part of bureaucrats with regard to essential areas of the sector is one of the main disadvantages. "It is vital that the people in the industry identify the weaknesses of the bureaucrats and pass on the information to the Government to take necessary action. International associations such as FAPAA can support Sri Lanka by making the Government aware of the difficulties they have to face in dealing with bureaucrats." Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Ravi Karunanayake said that Sri Lanka should strive to reach the levels of Singapore and Dubai which are far ahead of us in terms of efficiency in cargo clearing activities. "It is vital to introduce a self-regulatory mechanism to make the sector efficient. An open sky policy and demonopolising ground handling are other essential areas," Minister Karunanayake said. He said that freight forwarders in Sri Lanka should venture into logistics which is the need of the hour and should be competitive with their counterparts of the region to make the industry a viable economic activity contributing to the country's development. Director - Cargo Emirates Airlines Ram Menen said growth prospects for air cargo are very positive though there is a downturn due to the events of September 11, 2001. In the Asia Pacific region, air cargo is expected to grow at eight per cent per annum, the highest percentage for any region in the world. He said that within the next decade, the region would account for over 50 per cent of all export cargo movements. Mr Menen added that the prospects for Sri Lanka are predicted to be very strong in this period of sustained growth in the region. FAPAA will further study and discuss the modernised IATA Aircargo Agency Agreement to be implemented within Europe. The current agreement is 30 years old. Cargo 2000 is a proactive group formed under IATA and consists of major airlines and large multinational forwarders. They aim to reduce the air cargo process to 20 steps from the current 40 steps. All member countries of FAPAA will study and report their views on the World Customs Organisation recommendation to customs authorities to adopt and implement a unique consignment reference number issued by the seller in all international trade transactions. FAPAA will remain cooperative with FIATA, but will not seek a formal agreement. It is expected that China, Pakistan and Vietnam will join FAPAA in the near future. FAPAA Chairman Diren Hallock was re-elected for another term of office. The next meeting is scheduled to be held in Kathmandu, Nepal in June 2003. The two-day meeting had presentations by several international agencies and country reports from all member countries. Hosted by the Sri Lanka Freight Forwarders Association, it was the first time in the history of FAPAA that all 16 member nations attended the meeting. The national aircargo and freight forwarding associations of Australia, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Brunei, India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka are members of FAPAA. The FAPAA was formed in 1985 and is a regional grouping of national freight forwarders associations in the Asia Pacific region. |
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