December 03, 2008

Sri Lanka scraps bid for terminal at Colombo port

Bloomberg reported that aiming to increase cargo capacity at Colombo port by half, Sri Lanka has scrapped bids for a USD 400 million terminal.

Mr Tilak Collure a Sri Lankan ports ministry secretary said that new terms will be added and fresh bids will be called in 3 months. He added that "Hutchison Port Holdings and PSA International, which were among 5 companies that bid for the 2.4 million containers a year facility at Colombo's south harbor, will have to resubmit their offers."

Sri Lanka wants to exploit its location to challenge Singapore and Dubai as a sea trading hub in Asia as a civil war pares earnings from the island's leisure industry. The Colombo port is situated on the route between the Suez Canal and the Malacca Straits that all Europe bound ships from Asia use.

The existing three terminals at the Colombo port can handle 4.5 million standard 20 foot containers a year.