Sri Lanka becoming global distribution hub

[Gibbs]

Well-positioned: Sri Lanka becoming global distribution hub- Nikkei Asian Review

MANABU ITO, Nikkei staff writer

TOKYO -- Sri Lanka's strategic location has allowed it to grow into a key international distribution base. Its free trade agreement with populous neighbor India has made the once war-torn island nation attractive to logistics companies and manufacturers.

Expolanka Holdings has an international distribution center next to Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo. Textiles from Vietnam and Bangladesh are brought to the center, sorted out by destination and then loaded on to cargo planes and ships. The Middle East, Europe and the U.S. are the main destinations for the cargo.

The major Sri Lankan logistics company provides distribution services in 18 countries across South Asia, the Middle East and Africa and has roughly 60 facilities. Japan's SG Holdings bought Expolanka in June last year for about 8 billion yen (around $64 million). Through the acquisition, the parent company of Sagawa Express, a key player in the Japanese parcel delivery market, has gained footholds in markets where strong growth is expected.

"We can offer a wide range of services by combining [Expolanka's business network] with our distribution bases in Japan and East Asia, where our strength lies," said Akira Oyama, director at SG Holdings Global, a Singaporean unit of SG Holdings.

The acquisition has already started paying dividends. In March, SG Holdings Global received an order from a major U.S. sporting goods maker to handle shipments of products made at the company's factories in Southeast and South Asia to Europe and the U.S. Two months later, it won a contract to handle logistics for a manufacturer affiliated with an Indian conglomerate.



"We are now able to handle projects that would have been too hard for us to handle by ourselves," Oyama noted.

Attractively positioned

SG Holdings is not the only global logistics company that noticed the value of operating in Sri Lanka. Germany's Deutsche Post DHL has tied up with John Keells Holdings, the South Asian country's No. 1 conglomerate. APL Logistics, a Singaporean subsidiary of Japan's Kintetsu World Express, is working toward opening a facility with warehouses and container cargo handling equipment on a roughly 1 hectare plot near Colombo.

Sri Lanka's location, at the heart of the Indian Ocean, makes the country an ideal distribution base. About two-thirds of the world's tankers and around half the containerships are said to sail through waters off the island nation.

Low shipping costs also make Sri Lanka an attractive place to operate. According to the Japan External Trade Organization, container shipping costs from Colombo to Japan come to $480 per 40-foot container, far lower than the $890 from Mumbai to Japan or $1,210 from Bangkok to Japan.

Smooth customs clearance is Sri Lanka's another selling point. It only takes several days to clear customs in Sri Lanka for importing or exporting. In neighboring India, tangled customs clearance procedures make the process much more drawn out.

Expolanka Holdings' massive distribution center is located right next to Sri Lanka's main international airport.

"We hardly ever hear about troubles in customs clearance" in Sri Lanka, said an SG Holdings official stationed in the country.

At Colombo Harbor, port facilities are being upgraded. A large container terminal, completed by China Merchants Holdings (International) in 2013, pushed up the container handling volume at the port of Colombo to 4.31 million 20-foot equivalent units, or TEUs, in that year. That figure was enough to push the port to No. 1 spot in South Asia, surpassing India's biggest Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust. Once construction finishes at the new terminal, the port of Colombo's cargo handling volume is expected to increase 2.5 times to 12 million TEUs.

Free trade

Sri Lanka's free trade agreement with India makes it even more attractive as a distribution base. Because the agreement allows a wide range of items to be traded duty free between the two countries, an increasing number of manufacturers are turning to Sri Lanka as a production base for products intended for the Indian market.

Lanka Precision Engineering, a local unit of a Japanese manufacturer of precision stamping dies, for example, is making metal dies for surgical knives to deliver them to an Indian medical equipment maker by the end of the month.

"Sri Lanka will become a support base for India's manufacturing industry," Keiko Ishibashi, Lanka Precision Engineering's Japanese president, said.

The aggregate population in the 20 countries that make up the Indian Ocean Rim Association is projected to account for a third of people globally by 2040. Furthermore, their combined gross domestic product is forecast to make up 12% of the world's that year. This makes Sri Lanka even more valuable as a major global distribution hub.

@Nihonjin1051 @Azizam @NGV-H

 

[hkdas]

That figure was enough to push the port to No. 1 spot in South Asia, surpassing India's biggest Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust. Once construction finishes at the new terminal, the port of Colombo's cargo handling volume is expected to increase 2.5 times to 12 million TEUs.

indian needs to reduce the shipping costs. and also needs to fasten the customs clearance. Vizhinjam port is a promising project for india. being closer to the ISR and having a natural depth of 20m (once completed it will be deepest port in south Asia) it have a great potential to become the largest port in the region. Adani Ports group who have many major ports in india is going to construct and operate the port. if everything goes well then Vizhinjam port is a great danger to ports in srilanka. Gov. of india/kerala should give full authority to the Vizhinjam port to decide the shipping chargers.

BTW. JNPT is still in the top with annual handling of 4.47 million TEU of cargo.
Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, or Nhava Sheva, handled 369,000 TEUs, up from 364,000 TEUs. The three container terminals in Nhava Sheva together account for nearly 60 percent of total containerized cargo moving via India’s12 major ports and roughly 40 percent of the nation’s overall containerized ocean trade. Boosted by the highest-ever annual volume of 4.47 million TEUs in 2014-15 amid ongoing congestion issues, the port trust has set a throughput target of 5 million TEUs for the current fiscal year, which runs from April 2015 through March 2016.
State-owned India ports see volume growth in April | JOC.com

 

[Gibbs]

indian needs to reduce the shipping costs. and also needs to fasten the customs clearance. Vizhinjam port is a promising project for india. being closer to the ISR and having a natural depth of 20m (once completed it will be deepest port in south Asia) it have a great potential to become the largest port in the region. Adani Ports group who have many major ports in india is going to construct and operate the port. if everything goes well then Vizhinjam port is a great danger to ports in srilanka. Gov. of india/kerala should give full authority to the Vizhinjam port to decide the shipping chargers.

BTW. JNPT is still in the top with annual handling of 4.47 million TEU of cargo.
Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, or Nhava Sheva, handled 369,000 TEUs, up from 364,000 TEUs. The three container terminals in Nhava Sheva together account for nearly 60 percent of total containerized cargo moving via India’s12 major ports and roughly 40 percent of the nation’s overall containerized ocean trade. Boosted by the highest-ever annual volume of 4.47 million TEUs in 2014-15 amid ongoing congestion issues, the port trust has set a throughput target of 5 million TEUs for the current fiscal year, which runs from April 2015 through March 2016.
State-owned India ports see volume growth in April | JOC.com

Top 50 World Container Ports | World Shipping Council

Colombo 33
JN India 34

By 2016 Colombo will handle 12.5 Million TEU's and Colombo is the only port East of Dubai and West of Singapore that has the capacity to berth Mega containers with draught of 16 to 18 metres that can handle such ships..

Sri Lanka Opens $500 Million Port Terminal Built by China - Bloomberg Business

Vizhinjam has potential to become a deep harbor port but Colombo is already is one and in operation for over two years now handling mega container ships plus most transshipment to and from India goes through the Hambantota port a specified transshipment and bunkering port, Lessening the burden of Colombo.. Hence the slight reduction in TEU numbers to the corresponding year, As far as capacity goes Colombo is by far the largest container port in the region

Vizhinjam holds promise to become a mega container port | Business Line

And Colombo is miles ahead as far as logistics goes as amply mentioned in many articles and studies

Why Indian ports can’t compete with Colombo | Business Line

 

[hkdas]

Colombo 33
JN India 34

By 2016 Colombo will handle 12.5 Million TEU's and Colombo is the only port East of Dubai and West of Singapore that has the capacity to berth Mega containers with draught of 16 to 18 metres that can handle such ships.

.Vizhinjam port is endowed with a natural seawater depth of up to 24 m as close as one nautical mile from the seacoast. Due to this natural depth, Vizhinjam can attract the largest container vessels currently in operation and also the future mega container carriers.

10 things you need to know about Vizhinjam port being built by Modi man Adani
In India we only read about death, sickness, terrorism and crime. Let's make Some Change : VIZHINJAM INTERNATIONAL SEAPORT, KERALA
Vizhinjam International Seaport, Thiruvananthapuram, India Tourist Information
Vizhinjam International Seaport
https://www.google.co.in/url?sa=t&r...x37-N7qzNgg7opoK8nuKOvA&bvm=bv.98197061,d.c2E

Vizhinjam has potential to become a deep harbor port but Colombo is already is one and in operation for over two years now handling mega container ships plus most transshipment to and from India goes through the Hambantota port a specified transshipment and bunkering port, Lessening the burden of Colombo.. Hence the slight reduction in TEU numbers to the corresponding year, As far as capacity goes Colombo is by far the largest container port in the region

Advantages of Vizhinjam Port are:

• Availability of 20m contour within one nautical mile from the coast.
• Minimal littoral drift along the coast, hardly any maintenance dredging required.
• Links to national/regional road, rail network
• Flexibility in design and expansion being a Greenfield project
• Proximity to International shipping route
• Vizhinjam is an all-weather port located on the Southern tip of the sub-continent, it is just 10-12 nautical miles from the busy Persian Gulf - Malacca shipping lanes which carry almost a third of the world shipping traffic.

• Central to the eastern and western coast lines of India - can cater to the needs of both west and east coast.

• The proposed transshipment terminal will be an ideal location for attracting mainline vessels ranging from Post Panamax to Malacca-max in a phased manner.

• The proposed site is endowed with natural depth of more than 20 m as close as one Nautical Mile from the sea coast.

• The proposed site has minimal Littoral drift and as such would hardly require any maintenance dredging during the years of operation. This will result in low O&M Costs.

• The proposed port is a Green-field project, away from urban/city limits, and thus can be master planned and shaped by the professional and experienced developer as per his own efficient designs and needs. The Port can turn out to be an efficient, modern and highly productive port with design, expertise and experience of the successful developer having international experience in such ports.

• Once the port is up, Indian exporters will not have to rely on foreign ports for trans-shipment of cargo. It is expected to save at least
  
  1000 crores in expenditure annually.
• Vizhinjam International Sea Port Featuring: Where the future docks - Video | Kandathum Kettathum - Kerala God's Own Country Information, News, Photos, Videos, Travel Guide

Vizhinjam holds promise to become a mega container port | Business Line

And Colombo is miles ahead as far as logistics goes as amply mentioned in many articles and studies

Why Indian ports can’t compete with Colombo | Business Line

those draw backs of indian port is lack of natural depth for larger containers. but that problem is not in Vizhinjam port. because that port have 24m natural depth. and the infrastructure can be improved in a matter of time. because NDA gov. offers better business friendly atmosphere than the previous gov. and the vizhinjam port is going to be operated by adani group who have many other ports under their control. so they have the experience and financial capacity to improve the infrastructure. the vizhinjam port is $1.23 billion project for improving the infrastructure and built that port. and maintaing that port is easy as no need for dredging is required because of natural depth of 24m.

 

[Gibbs]

.Vizhinjam port is endowed with a natural seawater depth of up to 24 m as close as one nautical mile from the seacoast. Due to this natural depth, Vizhinjam can attract the largest container vessels currently in operation and also the future mega container carriers.

10 things you need to know about Vizhinjam port being built by Modi man Adani
In India we only read about death, sickness, terrorism and crime. Let's make Some Change : VIZHINJAM INTERNATIONAL SEAPORT, KERALA
Vizhinjam International Seaport, Thiruvananthapuram, India Tourist Information
Vizhinjam International Seaport
https://www.google.co.in/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=9&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CEQQFjAIahUKEwjwst_Z3eTGAhXIA44KHe8XB30&url=http://www.vizhinjamport.in/downloads/archives/RFPVol2VPD-PIM-MainRpt.pdf&ei=YU2qVbD-CciHuATvr5zoBw&usg=AFQjCNED_05x37-N7qzNgg7opoK8nuKOvA&bvm=bv.98197061,d.c2E


Advantages of Vizhinjam Port are:

• Availability of 20m contour within one nautical mile from the coast.
• Minimal littoral drift along the coast, hardly any maintenance dredging required.
• Links to national/regional road, rail network
• Flexibility in design and expansion being a Greenfield project
• Proximity to International shipping route
• Vizhinjam is an all-weather port located on the Southern tip of the sub-continent, it is just 10-12 nautical miles from the busy Persian Gulf - Malacca shipping lanes which carry almost a third of the world shipping traffic.

• Central to the eastern and western coast lines of India - can cater to the needs of both west and east coast.

• The proposed transshipment terminal will be an ideal location for attracting mainline vessels ranging from Post Panamax to Malacca-max in a phased manner.

• The proposed site is endowed with natural depth of more than 20 m as close as one Nautical Mile from the sea coast.

• The proposed site has minimal Littoral drift and as such would hardly require any maintenance dredging during the years of operation. This will result in low O&M Costs.

• The proposed port is a Green-field project, away from urban/city limits, and thus can be master planned and shaped by the professional and experienced developer as per his own efficient designs and needs. The Port can turn out to be an efficient, modern and highly productive port with design, expertise and experience of the successful developer having international experience in such ports.

• Once the port is up, Indian exporters will not have to rely on foreign ports for trans-shipment of cargo. It is expected to save at least
  
  1000 crores in expenditure annually.
• Vizhinjam International Sea Port Featuring: Where the future docks - Video | Kandathum Kettathum - Kerala God's Own Country Information, News, Photos, Videos, Travel Guide

those draw backs of indian port is lack of natural depth for larger containers. but that problem is not in Vizhinjam port. because that port have 24m natural depth. and the infrastructure can be improved in a matter of time. because NDA gov. offers better business friendly atmosphere than the previous gov. and the vizhinjam port is going to be operated by adani group who have many other ports under their control. so they have the experience and financial capacity to improve the infrastructure. the vizhinjam port is $1.23 billion project for improving the infrastructure and built that port. and maintaing that port is easy as no need for dredging is required because of natural depth of 24m.

My point is Vizhinjam is in the making but Colombo South is already in operation and had been for over two years.. They're already far ahead in the competition.. So Vizhinjam needs to offer something spectacular to the Shippers to get them from Colombo.. So what are they ? Plus as i and many experts mention the advantages Colombo South or for that matter even Hambantota has over logistics to any Indian port ?

Colombo and Hambantota are even closer to the shipping lanes than Kerala, So why would a mega tonnage divert elsewhere when the same services are provided with way better logistics and less red tape ? It's already much cheaper and convienient for Indian based manufacturers to use Hambantota as a transshipment port to Africa and rest of Asia than their own ports and vise versa for importers to India

 

[hkdas]

My point is Vizhinjam is in the making but Colombo South is already in operation and had been for over two years.. They're already far ahead in the competition.. So Vizhinjam needs to offer something spectacular to the Shippers to get them from Colombo.. So what are they ? Plus as i and many experts mention the advantages Colombo South or for that matter even Hambantota has over logistics to any Indian port ?

Colombo and Hambantota are even closer to the shipping lanes than Kerala, So why would a mega tonnage divert elsewhere when the same services are provided with way better logistics and less red tape ? It's already much cheaper and convienient for Indian based manufacturers to use Hambantota as a transshipment port to Africa and rest of Asia than their own ports and vise versa for importers to India

the major difference is vizhinjam is in india and Hambantota in srilanka. india is a larger country and have a larger export and import goods. if anyone wants to import or export to or from india, it will be better to do it india that doing it through a third country and then again ship it back to india. its too costly(even tho srilanka had a FTA with india there is transhipment cost) and time consuming. the container from srilanka or any other country will have to go through the same custom clearance in india. so if a port like vizhinjam can accommodate larger ship and have the permission from GoI to berth larger ship in vizhinjam, then it is much better economical and takes less time than export/import through a port in srilanka.
another major advantage of the vizhinjam is it is near to the international ship route so it won't cause any problem for larger ships to came to vizhinjam.

 

[kadamba-warrior]

the major difference is vizhinjam is in india and Hambantota in srilanka. india is a larger country and have a larger export and import goods. if anyone wants to import or export to or from india, it will be better to do it india that doing it through a third country and then again ship it back to india. its too costly(even tho srilanka had a FTA with india there is transhipment cost) and time consuming. the container from srilanka or any other country will have to go through the same custom clearance in india. so if a port like vizhinjam can accommodate larger ship and have the permission from GoI to berth larger ship in vizhinjam, then it is much better economical and takes less time than export/import through a port in srilanka.
another major advantage of the vizhinjam is it is near to the international ship route so it won't cause any problem for larger ships to came to vizhinjam.

It is because of lack of strategic vision that India had to hand over advantage to Colombo despite having a number of ports and a vast amount of shipping goods ourselves!

I have even heard (not entirely sure though) that until recently, a significant portion of imports intended for India had to be redistributed from Colombo and take the same route for exports too!

What makes the matters even worse is the blind support for 'Ram Setu' which prevents us from dredging the Palk Straits which in turn hampers movement of ships between Eastern and Western coast of India and circumnavigate Sri Lanka thereby losing competitiveness!

We should at least strive to take back Indian bound cargo directly to Indian ports - even if we fail to do much about international redistribution.

 

[hkdas]

It is because of lack of strategic vision that India had to hand over advantage to Colombo despite having a number of ports and a vast amount of shipping goods ourselves!

I have even heard (not entirely sure though) that until recently, a significant portion of imports intended for India had to be redistributed from Colombo and take the same route for exports too!

What makes the matters even worse is the blind support for 'Ram Setu' which prevents us from dredging the Palk Straits which in turn hampers movement of ships between Eastern and Western coast of India and circumnavigate Sri Lanka thereby losing competitiveness!

We should at least strive to take back Indian bound cargo directly to Indian ports - even if we fail to do much about international redistribution.

india should abolish that kabotash law.
ram setu is religious matter it is too sensitive, both in india and srilanka. if vizhinjam is fully operational with its full potential then we can overcome the problem caused by the "ram setu" for shipping.
an easy way is to stop transshipment from srilanka, then all the ship will came to india.

 

[Shotgunner51]

Top 50 World Container Ports | World Shipping Council

Colombo 33
JN India 34

By 2016 Colombo will handle 12.5 Million TEU's and Colombo is the only port East of Dubai and West of Singapore that has the capacity to berth Mega containers with draught of 16 to 18 metres that can handle such ships..

Sri Lanka Opens $500 Million Port Terminal Built by China - Bloomberg Business

Vizhinjam has potential to become a deep harbor port but Colombo is already is one and in operation for over two years now handling mega container ships plus most transshipment to and from India goes through the Hambantota port a specified transshipment and bunkering port, Lessening the burden of Colombo.. Hence the slight reduction in TEU numbers to the corresponding year, As far as capacity goes Colombo is by far the largest container port in the region

Vizhinjam holds promise to become a mega container port | Business Line

And Colombo is miles ahead as far as logistics goes as amply mentioned in many articles and studies

Why Indian ports can’t compete with Colombo | Business Line

Yes, according to World Shipping Council, Sri Lanka's Colombo port had a volume of 4.31 million TEU's in 2013, ranked number #33 in the world, #1 in South Asia.

Colombo South Container Terminal CSCT

The 2.4 million TEU's capacity Colombo South Container Terminal, the first terminal under new expansion in the Port of Colombo is built by Colombo International Container Terminals Ltd., (CICT), a joint venture Company between China Merchants Holdings (International) Co., Ltd. (CMHI) and the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA). It is developing the new port under a 35 year build, operate, and transfer agreement with the SLPA.

Commenced construction in December 2011, the first pace was ceremonially opened for traffic on 8 August 2013 making Colombo Port complex one of the biggest in the World. Total length of new Breakwater is 6830m. Berth Depth is 18m.

 

[Gibbs]

Colombo Port attracts 4 new shipping services ::ailyFT - Be Empowered

Further strengthening its hub status in South Asia, the Colombo Port has attracted four new services so far this year, boosting volumes and profitability.
“We have been successful in luring four new major shipping services during the first half of the year,” Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) Chairman Dr. Lakdas Panagoda told the Daily FT.
The four new services are Australian/Falcon – MSC serviced Jaya Container Terminal (JCT); Zim Line/USA at South Asia Gateway Terminals (SAGT); China Shipping Container Lines – PIL connected and 2M service – Maersk and MCS at Colombo International Container Terminals (CICT).
He further said that the number of ships calling at Colombo Port had increased by 13.1% during the first six months compared to 2014.

At present, 19 of the top 20 global shipping lines are calling at the Port of Colombo.


With an optimistic outlook for the future Dr. Panagoda said that the overall signs had been positive for the year with a target to post a profit of Rs. 10 billion.
As per the provisional financial figures, SLPA recorded an operating profit of Rs. 8.9 billion in 2014 compared to Rs. 2.4 billion in 2013.

“The outset looks interesting for port-related activates. We hope to handle more business and expect to increase our income and profits,” he said.
With the completion of the East Container Terminal next year, the Port of Colombo will be in a position to handle another 2.4 million TEUs per annum, increasing its total capacity to 9.8 million TEUs per annum.
Currently its total capacity is 7.4 million TEUs per annum, whereby it contributes immensely to the country’s economy.
The State-run Jaya Container Terminal (JCT) average gross crane productivity has increased to 25 containers per hour from 18 containers compared to last year.

Elaborating further he said since January container volumes and productivity at JCT had increased steadily and that they expected to increase crane productivity to 30 containers per hour.

“Colombo is certainly improving. We have the right environment now for investors to come in and take part in the development,” he added.

The expansion projects taking place, such as the completion of East Container Terminal, setting-up of passenger cruise terminal, scanning system for containers, implementing 24-hour custom service and road development program within the port, will positively benefit the Colombo Port to be competitive in the region.
Noting the importance of being competitive in the region, he said: “One of the areas that we need to improve on is productivity and efficiency. We have to be up to the job to provide the necessary facilities,” he said.

The Chairman also said that they had succeeded in applying for ISO:9001 certification and is confident that they would be able to implement it at JCT by the end of this month.
“This will be the first time Colombo Port will have it and it will boost the image of the port,” Dr. Panagoda noted.

 

[Gibbs]

Colombo port ranked 13th best connectivity port in the world

The Colombo port has gained five places in the latest Drewry Port Connectivity Index to be ranked as the 13th best connectivity port.


According to the rankings, the Colombo port is also the best connectivity port in South Asia.

The Drewry Global Container Port Connectivity Index recently announced the top 20 ports with new entries of Jebel Ali and Algeciras to the listing for the fourth quarter of 2017.


The shipping consultancy Drewry that has launched a regular, bespoke index of port connectivity in the latest edition of its Ports & Terminals Insight report aims to show how well connected the world’s container ports are.


The index divides the world into seven major zones, and measures each port’s breadth of connectivity by the number of regions served and how many mainline services call per week. Routes that involve transshipment are not counted, nor are intra-regional services within a region.


The Drewry Global Container Port Connectivity Index that signifies the importance of port connectivity as important as size or scale consists of two variables—the number of mainline services calling at each port per week and the regions in the world to which each port is directly linked.


Colombo port has exceeded 6.1 million TEU target and is expected to reach the 7 million TEU target by end of this year.


Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the terminal operators of the Colombo port to operate collectively to promote the port.


SLPA Chairman Dr. Parakrama Dissanayake said that the terminals would compete with each other but would also co-operate with each other moving between competition and co-operation.


“On the Asia to Europe sector there are 17 loops of which only 03 are calling Colombo. Therefore, obviously, we have got challenges to ensure that collectively we should attract more loops into the Port of Colombo. This means, we have to go beyond the partisan approach of promoting our terminals to protect the Port of Colombo,” Dissanayake said.


At present, Colombo port has three terminals—the state-owned Jaya Container Terminal and the private public partnerships South Asia Gateway Terminal (SAGT) and Colombo International Container Terminal (CICT).

http://www.dailymirror.lk/article/C...st-connectivity-port-in-the-world-147799.html

 

[HeinzG]

the major difference is vizhinjam is in india and Hambantota in srilanka. india is a larger country and have a larger export and import goods. if anyone wants to import or export to or from india, it will be better to do it india that doing it through a third country and then again ship it back to india. its too costly(even tho srilanka had a FTA with india there is transhipment cost) and time consuming. the container from srilanka or any other country will have to go through the same custom clearance in india. so if a port like vizhinjam can accommodate larger ship and have the permission from GoI to berth larger ship in vizhinjam, then it is much better economical and takes less time than export/import through a port in srilanka.
another major advantage of the vizhinjam is it is near to the international ship route so it won't cause any problem for larger ships to came to vizhinjam.

As far as the shipping lines are concerned they will not divert further away from their original courses. The international shipping lines already has a one world class harbor at Colombo and one upcoming harbor at Hambantota to unload. There is no way that they would go as far as vizhinjam to unload their cargo just because Indians want the cargo to be unloaded in India.

Besides, well seasoned and efficient Colombo port is making lower costs to the transshipping customers compared with the vizhinjam port which has to work very hard to match the level of Colombo port in order to break even.

 

[Kambojaric]

Great. Sri Lanka has a unique position that not many other countries can offer. Maximize it