Most of the Port sector activities would be outsourced to the private sector in a bid to increase efficacy said Ports and Shipping Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva who was the Chief Guest at the 29th Annual Awards Ceremony of the Institute of Chartered Ship Brokers (UK) Sri Lanka branch in Colombo on Friday.
The Minister said that he proposes to outsource the North Colombo Port Development venture to be completely managed by the private sector.
He said he will also take a challenge to hand over the port navigation to the private sector, even offering another tower, thereby expecting better results. The Minister also said the State Shipping Corporation has only two ships and it requires purchasing another ship which would be accomplished under a public-private partnership by next year.
Minister De Silva commended the management of presently managed private terminals in the port and their efficiency is comparatively higher than the public sector. “Therefore he noted that such excellent performance is sought from all the port and maritime operations that come within his purview.” He said hence outsourcing management to the private sector is the most lucrative solution.
He said there was a time that the private sector was treated as enemies, but they now consider the private sector as their supporter to work together for the upliftment of the country.
The minister invited local and foreign stakeholders involved in maritime business to forward proposals for Public Private Partnership (PPP) ventures in the development of ports in Sri Lanka.
He said with all these his wish is to transform the Colombo Port into an ultra-modern hi-tech workplace, securing growth and revenue from industry sectors characterized by new and rapidly changing technology.
The Minister further elaborates on the fact said “As of the opinion of President Ranil Wickramasinghe, the government should not be doing business, but the government is there to facilitate the private sector to effectively engage in business. Well agreeing to this concept, we are now diverting to a market economy policy where we derive more from the private sector”.
He also pointed out that even in countries like Russia and China many government entities are now being given to the private sector as it is more efficient.
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‘Kankesanthurai’s new port terminal to be commissioned on April 29’
Claude Gunasekera
Chairman of Sri Lanka Ports Authority Keith Bernard said the new terminal in the port of Kankesanthurai will be commissioned on April 29 while other developments in Galle and Trincomalee ports are successfully progressing.
He further noted that although certain challenges had to be faced during the last couple of weeks, none of the obstacles will stop them from progressing towards achieving the set objectives. Bernard also made a special comment about the professionalism in Sri Lanka and said that he had the opportunity to mingle with many local and foreign maritime professionals but in comparison, Sri Lankan quality is either equal or higher in standard.
Bernard said it is that standard which will help to make Sri Lanka’s maritime industry second to none in the region. Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers (UK) Sri Lanka branch Chairman Kingsley Abeywickrama said his new student enrolment strategy includes focusing on foreign students, especially in Maldives and Bangladesh. He said this will be an effort to bring in foreign currency to the country as some other countries are largely depending on their foreign revenue through education.
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