The Hindu : SLPA to unveil concessional package for Indian exporters

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, May 25, 2002

Business

Business

SLPA to unveil concessional package for Indian exporters

By N. Ravi Kumar

CHENNAI May 24. A concessional package inducing Indian exporters to ``channelise'' containerised cargo through the seaport of Colombo is to be unveiled by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority.

``Tariff and prices'' concessions would be linked to cargo volumes, said the Sri Lankan Minister of Port Development and Shipping, Rauf Hakeem.

Targeted at shipping lines and shippers, the package was intended to make Colombo an attractive transshipment destination, the SLPA Chairman, Parakrama Dissanayake, said. The Minister and the official were speaking to select presspersons here on Thursday evening.

The package was also in tune with the SLPA approach to capitalise on the ``feel good factor'' visible among the shipping community after the recent initiatives to usher in peace in the Island nation. The shipping lines have withdrawn the war risk premium surcharge on containerised cargo.

Underscoring the need for India and Sri Lanka to develop synergies in marine mercantile activities, instead of competing, Mr. Hakeem said the ``idea should be to reap the maximum benefit''. The Free Trade Agreement between the nations could provide an ideal setting for the purpose, he said.

Listing the proposed passenger ferry service between Colombo and Tuticorin as another initiative in this direction, Mr. Hakeem said there was good traffic potential particularly in the context of an estimated 100,000 Sri Lankan Tamil refugees residing in Tamil Nadu. The Minister said the scope for carrying more luggage would be the main attraction for the passengers vis-a-vis air travel.

The service would act as a catalyst to promote tourism in the region. The Sri Lanka Government would extend the relaxed norms for visa— currently it was being issued on arrival at the Colombo airport— to those taking the ferry route. Other Indian ports including Chennai would be connected by the service, he said, pointing out that the ideal route would be between Talaimannar and Rameswaram or Dhanushkodi.

The SLPA, Mr. Dissanayake said, was working on a multi-pronged strategy to improve the operations of the Colombo port.

The efficiency of the port, a part of which had been privatised and awarded to P and O, was ``consistently'' averaging between 65-90 moves per hour. The port, with an equipped capacity to handle 2.4 million TEUs, was aiming to handle 3.4 TEUs by 2003.

With the demand expected to outweigh the capacity by 2006-07, the SLPA proposed to build 12 container berths, adjacent to the existing facility, on the build-operate-transfer basis at a cost of $ 1 billion. The Asian Development Bank had granted $ 10 million for design of the port. Initially, the container handling capacity would be 3.5 million TEUs.

There was also a proposal to build another port at Hambantota in South Sri Lanka by 2015. Ideally located in the main sea lane- nearly 250 vessels pass the Sri Lankan shore-the proposed port would have a draft of 17 metres, enough to attract the mammoth Malacca Max vessels that have a capacity to carry upto 18,000 TEUs.

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