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SAARC REGIONAL
MULTIMODAL TRANSPORT STUDY
(SRMTS)
FINAL REPORT
COUNTRY REPORT
FOR
SRI LANKA
Amal S. Kumarage
Professor, University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka
April 2006
i
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 COUNTRY PROFILE ___________________________________________________ 1
1.1 Geography _________________________________________________________ 1
1.2 Population _________________________________________________________ 1
1.3 Economy __________________________________________________________ 1
1.4 Trade _____________________________________________________________ 3
1.5 Tourism ___________________________________________________________ 7
1.6 Transport __________________________________________________________ 8
1.6.1 Early Development of Transport ____________________________________ 8
1.6.2 Inland Waterways ________________________________________________ 8
1.6.3 Land Transport __________________________________________________ 9
1.6.4 Current Land Transport Activity ____________________________________ 9
1.6.5 Ports _________________________________________________________ 10
1.6.6 Airports _______________________________________________________ 11
1.6.7 Transport Map _________________________________________________ 11
2 PROFILE OF CORRIDORS/SECTORS ____________________________________ 13
2.1 Aviation Sector ____________________________________________________ 13
2.1.1 Aviation Gateways in SAARC Region ________________________________ 14
2.1.2 Air Services Agreement between Sri Lanka and India ___________________ 16
2.1.3 Air Services Agreement between Sri Lanka and Maldives ________________ 17
2.1.4 Air Services Agreement between Sri Lanka and Pakistan ________________ 17
2.1.5 Air Services Agreement between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh ______________ 18
2.2 Maritime Sector ___________________________________________________ 19
2.3 Road Corridors ____________________________________________________ 23
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2.4 Rail Corridors _____________________________________________________ 25
2.5 Inland Waterway Corridors ___________________________________________ 26
2.5.1 Talaimannar- Rameshwaran ______________________________________ 26
3 PROFILE OF GATEWAYS ______________________________________________ 29
3.1 Airports – Description of Airport Sector and Policies ______________________ 29
3.1.1 Bandaranaike International Airport (Colombo) ________________________ 29
3.2 Seaports – Description of Port Industry _________________________________ 30
3.2.1 Port of Colombo ________________________________________________ 30
3.2.1.1 Terminals, Berths, Quays & Other Facilities ______________________ 30
a) Jaya Container Terminal (JCT) ___________________________________ 31
b) South Asia Gateway Terminals (SAGT) ____________________________ 32
c) Unity Container Terminal (UCT) _________________________________ 32
d) Bandaranaike Quay ____________________________________________ 33
e) Feeder Berth _________________________________________________ 33
f) Prince Vijaya Quay ____________________________________________ 33
3.2.1.2 Other Facilities _____________________________________________ 33
3.2.2 Port of Galle ___________________________________________________ 34
3.2.3 Port of Trincomalee _____________________________________________ 35
4 RELEVANT CONFIRMED SECTOR DEVELOPMENTS _____________________ 36
4.1 Aviation__________________________________________________________ 36
4.2 Maritime _________________________________________________________ 37
4.3 Rail _____________________________________________________________ 40
4.4 Road ____________________________________________________________ 40
4.5 Ferry Transport ____________________________________________________ 41
iii
5 ISSUES/CONSTRAINTS TO INTRA-REGIONAL TRANSPORT _______________ 42
5.1 Aviation__________________________________________________________ 42
5.1.1 Infrastructure __________________________________________________ 42
5.1.2 Services _______________________________________________________ 42
5.1.3 Qualitative Responses ____________________________________________ 44
5.2 Maritime _________________________________________________________ 45
5.2.1 Infrastructure __________________________________________________ 45
5.2.2 Services _______________________________________________________ 46
5.2.3 Industry Responses ______________________________________________ 46
5.3 Ferry Transport ____________________________________________________ 47
5.3.1 Infrastructure __________________________________________________ 47
5.3.2 Services _______________________________________________________ 48
5.4 Land Transport ____________________________________________________ 48
6 TRAFFIC FORECASTS ________________________________________________ 49
6.1 Aviation__________________________________________________________ 49
6.1.1 Passenger – Overall National ______________________________________ 49
6.1.2 Cargo – Overall National _________________________________________ 51
6.1.3 General Observations ____________________________________________ 53
6.2 Maritime _________________________________________________________ 54
6.2.1 Overall Growth in Maritime Traffic _________________________________ 54
6.2.2 Growth in Container Sector _______________________________________ 54
6.3 Ferry Transport ____________________________________________________ 55
7 National Development Priorities and Scheduling ______________________________ 56
7.1 Aviation__________________________________________________________ 56
iv
7.2 Maritime _________________________________________________________ 56
Appendix A: Data for Aviation Sector SAARC Regional Operations To/From Sri Lanka
Appendix B: Data for Maritime Sector SAARC Regional Operations To/From Sri Lanka
v
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Sri Lankan GDP (1990-2004) __________________________________________ 2
Table 2: The State of the Economy in 2004 ______________________________________ 3
Table 3: Trends in value of trade between Sri Lanka and the rest of the world ___________ 5
Table 4: Sri Lanka’s External Trade with SAARC Countries (2000-2004) – Rs Million ___ 5
Table 5: Quantities Exported to SAARC Countries (2004) __________________________ 6
Table 6: Quantities Imported from SAARC Countries (2004) ________________________ 6
Table 7: Foreign tourist arrivals in Sri Lanka, 1990 – 2003 __________________________ 7
Table 8: Tourist Arrivals from SAARC countries (2000-2004) _______________________ 7
Table 9: Transport Modal Shares: Sri Lanka (2001) _______________________________ 9
Table 10: Port Services (2003-4) _____________________________________________ 10
Table 11: Regional Transport Corridors _________________________________________ 13
Table 12: Sri Lanka’s Air Service with SAARC Countries _________________________ 19
Table 13: Road Length and Road Density (2001) ________________________________ 24
Table 14: Estimated Operational Vehicle Fleet (2001) _____________________________ 24
Table 15: Passenger Traffic on Indo-Sri Lanka Ferry Service (up to 1984) ____________ 26
Table 16: Potential for Ferry Services _________________________________________ 27
Table 17: Outline of Existing Airport Facilities __________________________________ 29
Table 18: Estimated Capacity Requirements of Existing Facilities up to 2025 __________ 36
Table 19: Identified Port Development Projects __________________________________ 38
Table 20: Summary of Infrastructure Requirements at BIA for year 2020 _____________ 42
Table 21: Capacity of Existing Passenger and Baggage Handling Facilities ____________ 43
Table 22: Summary of Facility Requirements for Passenger Terminal (2025) __________ 43
Table 23: Existing and Potential Enhanced Capacity of Existing Terminals (TEUs) ______ 46
vi
Table 24: Historic Air Passenger & Aircraft Traffic at Bandaranaike International Airport
(1990-2004)_______________________________________________________________ 49
Table 25: Tourist Arrivals from SAARC Countries (2000-2004) _____________________ 50
Table 26: Forecast Results of Total Passenger Movements at BIA (2003-2013) _________ 51
Table 27: Total Passenger Demand (2006-2025) _________________________________ 51
Table 28: Historic Air Cargo at Bandaranaike International Airport (1990-2004) _______ 52
Table 29: Forecast Results of Total Cargo Movements at BIA (2003-2013) ____________ 53
Table 30: Total Cargo Demand (2004 to 2025) __________________________________ 53
Table 31: Forecast of Domestic Container Traffic for Port of Colombo _______________ 54
Table 32: Forecast of Transhipment of Container Traffic to the Indian Sub Continent ____ 55
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Transport Map of Sri Lanka __________________________________________ 12
Figure 2: SAARC Air Routes from Sri Lanka ___________________________________ 15
Figure 3: SAARC Maritime Routes from Sri Lanka ______________________________ 22
i
PREAMBLE
Terms of Reference
At the 12th SAARC Summit held in January 2004 in Islamabad, the Heads of
State/Government emphasized the need to strengthen transportation, transit and
communication links in the region for accelerated and balanced economic growth in the
region. Therefore, it had been decided to conduct a comprehensive regional multimodal
transport study with a view to developing the transport sector within the region in an
integrated manner. As such, the SAARC Secretariat with financial assistance from the Asian
Development Bank has initiated the SAARC Regional Multimodal Transport Study
(SRMTS) in order to enhance transport connectivity among SAARC Member States to
promote intra-regional trade.
The Inception Workshop for the SAARC Regional Multimodal Transport Study was held in
June 2005 and the First Technical Coordination Meeting in August 2005 to discuss the
framework for the study. The Second Technical Co-ordination Meeting for the SAARC
Regional Multimodal Transport Study (SRMTS) to review progress, finalize the corridors,
gateways and methodology was held also in Kathmandu from 17-18 October 2005.
Regional Study Team
The study team for the SRMTS included representatives from each of the seven SAARC
countries comprising a Country Team from each country. The Committee meetings were
attended by the respective country team leaders. The names and designations of the team
leaders are as follows:
Bangladesh
Mr. M.A. Matin Taldukar
General Manager (East)
Bangladesh Railway
Chittagong
Nepal
Dr. Pushkar Bajriacharya,
Trade Analyst
Kathmandu
Bhutan
Mr. Tashi Wangyal,
Consultant,
Pakistan
Mr. Sajid Mansoor,
Deputy Chief, Ministry of
Communications
ii
India
Mr. S.K. Mishra,
Director (Road Transport)
Ministry of Road Transport &
Highways
New Delhi
Sri Lanka
Prof Amal S. Kumarage
University of Moratuwa
Maldives
Mr. Hussain Naeem,
Chief Engineer,
Maldives Port Authority,
Male
Sri Lanka Study Team
This report for Sri Lanka was compiled by the following team appointed by the Asian
Development Bank, based on the nominations made by the Government of Sri Lanka and the
SAARC Secretariat.
• Amal S. Kumarage, B.Sc. Eng.(Moratuwa), PhD (Calgary), FCILT (UK); AMIESL,
Professor, Division of Transport Engineering, University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka.
o e-mail: [email protected]
o telephone: (94) – 11- 264 6702
Professor Amal S. Kumarage, functioned as the Team Leader and was responsible for the
writing up of the Aviation, Ferries and Land Transport sections and
• P. Ramachandra, BSc(Eng), MSc (Cranfield), PhD (London), DIC,C Eng, MIE., Senior
Lecturer, Department of Management of Technology, University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka.
• e-mail [email protected]
• +94 777 418888
Dr Ramachandra was responsible for compiling the section of this report on Maritime. The
maps were prepared by Ms. Pradeepa Jayaratne of the University of Moratuwa.
iii
Acknowledgements
The Study Team gratefully acknowledges the excellent cooperation from a number of
persons, including the following who at all times readily responded to request for information
and provided other support required for the study.
• Dr D.S. Jayaweera, Secretary, Ministry of Transport, Colombo;
• Mr. C.A.H.M. Wijeratne, Acting Director General/SAARC, Foreign Ministry, Colombo;
• Mr. Sunil Arsekularatne, Director Planning, Ministry of Railways, Colombo;
• Mr. Priyal de Silva, General Manager Sri Lanka Railways, Colombo;
• Mr. Wasantha Munasinghe, Suptd- Planning, Sri Lanka Railways, Colombo;
• Mr. G.S. Withanage, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Ports & Aviation, Colombo;
• Dr. Parakrama Dissanayake, Managing Director, Aitken Spence Shipping Ltd, Colombo;
• Mr. W.W.M.A.S. Premakumar, Deputy Director, Sri Lanka Customs, Colombo;
• Mr. O.J.S. Perera, Consultant, Airport & Aviation Services, Sri Lanka;
• Mr Prasanna Weerasinghe, Consultant, Sri Lanka Ports Authority, Colombo;
• Mr. H.M.C.Nimalsiri, Director General, Civil Aviation Authority, Colombo;
• Mr. WG Samaratunge, Managing Director, Sri Lanka Ports Authority, Colombo;
• Mr. Weerakoon, Director Merchant Shipping, Colombo;
• Mr. K.D. Lasantha, Civil Aviation Authority, Colombo;
• Mr. Gimhan Daberera, Civil Aviation Officer CAA, Colombo
• Mr Gananathalingam, Consultant ( Retired Director of Customs);
• Ms Anoma Abeywickrema & Dilki de Silva, Travel Club, Colombo; and
• Ms. Pradeepa Jayaratne, University of Moratuwa.
The study team also acknowledges with gratitude the co-operation received from personnel of
the SAARC Secretariat and the ADB who were in charge of this project, including:
• Mr. Y.K.A. Rohanajith, Director, SAARC Secretariat, Kathmandu;
• Mr. Anthony Bayley, Consultant, ADB, Manila;
• Mr. Bishnu Pant, Regional Cooperation Specialist, ADB, Kathmandu;
• Mr. Binod Karmacharya, Regional Cooperation Advisor, ADB Kathmandu;
• Ms Pawitra Gurung, Administrator, ADB Kathmandu; and
• Ms.Leileen Hamin, Senior Personnel Assistant, SAARC, Kathmandu.
The financial assistance received from the ADB for the compilation of this report is also
gratefully acknowledged.
iv
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Sri Lanka has a population of 19.5 million that is growing at around 1.2 percent per annum.
The land area is 65,610 sq kms with a population density of 310 persons per sq km. During
the last five decades its economy grew by an annual average rate of 4.2%, but this has been
insufficient to elevate the country to a high growth path due to deep rooted deficiencies in
growth promotion factors. In 2004, the nominal GDP of Sri Lanka was estimated to have
reached about $20 billion and GDP per capita to about $1,031.
Trade and Tourism
The value of Sri Lanka’s exports grew strongly by 8.1 percent per year over the 18 year
period 1985-2003. Within this period, imports also grew by 7.9% pa. Sri Lanka’s external
trade between the other SAARC countries for the period 2000-2004 accounts for 1/3rd of the
total trade between all SAARC countries, with the Sri Lanka/India trade volumes accounting
for around 30%. The potential to expand intra-regional trade rapidly from a low base by
liberalizing bilateral trading arrangements is well illustrated by the experience of India and
Sri Lanka following the implementation of a free trade agreement between them in 2001. In
the following year (2002), the value of the bilateral trade between India and Sri Lanka
registered a 48 percent increase. In 2004, Sri Lanka and India agreed to convert the Indo-Sri
Lanka Free Trade Agreement (ISLFTA) into a Comprehensive Economic Partnership
Agreement (CEPA) incorporating trade and service agreements. The Pakistan-Sri Lanka Free
Trade Agreement (PSLFTA) was signed in February 2005.
The tourist arrivals from the SAARC countries represents around 20-25% of all tourist
arrivals with Indian tourists accounting for over 80% of arrivals from SAARC countries.
Foreign tourist arrivals increased by an average of 5 percent per year during the 13-year
period 1990-2003. From 2003, however, this has increased at 29.6% p.a. mainly due to higher
arrivals from India that rose from 33,924 in 2001 to 105,151, a rate of increase of nearly 50%
p.a.
Regional Transport Services & Corridors
Sri Lanka being an island nation has only limited regional corridors within SAARC. It has
only air and maritime links with other countries in the SAARC region.
Aviation
Sri Lanka has one international airport - Bandaranaike International Airport – that is located
32 kms north of the centre of Colombo. During the year 2004, 37 international airlines,
including 8 cargo airlines, operated in Sri Lanka. There were 4.1 million passengers who
v
passed through the BIA with transit passengers making up around 15%. There were 145, 647
tones of freight tonnage handled by the BIA.
Air Traffic at BIA has steadily increased with an average annual growth rates of 7.9 % for
international passengers since 1990. The demand for Sri Lankans travelling abroad has been
7.2% per annum, while tourist arrivals have been growing at a slower rate of 4.7% p.a. In
particular the growth rate for 2003 and 2004 was remarkably high with both tourist and local
travel showing high growth. There has also been a rapid growth in transit passengers at 26%
per annum during the last six years.
Existing policies of the Government of Sri Lanka with respect to the aviation sector are:
(i) Foreign Charter and Freighter operators being allowed operations to Sri Lanka under
an ‘open skies’ policy; and
(ii) Fifty Nine (59) bilateral air services agreements under the Government’s pursuit of a
liberalized market access on a reciprocal basis. Of these four are with SAARC
countries with Sri Lanka having direct flights between 3 other SAARC countries at
present - India, Maldives and Pakistan. There are 106 direct flights per week to 10
Indian cities with 5 flights per week to Karachi in Pakistan and a further 27 flights per
week to the Maldives.
Sri Lanka faces several deficiencies in attracting major airlines. Of them, insufficient
supporting infrastructure and inadequate ancillary services, such as high cost bunkering
services, poor road transportation and insufficient accommodation, constitute the major
shortcomings. This has inhibited Sri Lanka from emerging as a main aviation hub, harnessing
its strategic geographical advantage.
The aviation industry sees no major constraint with respect to the actual airport infrastructure
as such but highlighted a number of other aspects as appreciable constraints. These were as
follows:
• High ground handling charges preventing the overall growth of passenger traffic
arriving at the BIA and therefore the progress of connectivity to other SAARC
countries;
• Poor ground access between BIA and resorts for attracting transit passengers with
stopover packages. This is seen an impediment for passengers especially from the
Maldives, southern India and Bangladesh;
• Lack of a Low Cost Carrier to introduce low-cost airlines in the SAARC region to tap
in to this vast market. It is considered that such an initiative would result in a
phenomenal increase in air travel within the SAARC region;
vi
• A fully-fledged Open Skies policy for passenger travel that would encourage the
commercial viability to sustain the development of air services between points in
SAARC countries which at present have lower traffic loads; and
• Liberalization of Air Services needed for developing air routes connecting Sri Lanka
to other SAARC destination to its true potential. On routes where this has been
carried out, the fares have reduced, while frequencies and destinations have increased
rapidly.
The forecasts made for traffic at BIA estimates growth rates of between 6 to 8 percent per
annum for passenger traffic translating to 6.5 million passengers by 2010; 9 million
passengers by 2015; 12 million passengers by 2020 and 18 million passengers by 2025.
Freight movements are anticipated to grow between 9 to12 percent per annum to reach one
million tons around the year 2025. However, recent growth spurts resulting from
liberalization of aviation in the SAARC region and the continuing adoption of such policies,
particularly with respect to those discussed above could result in much faster growth of
regional traffic, easily doubling growth rates for the next 10 years.
Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) is operational 24 hours per day and is managed by
the State-Owned Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Ltd. (AASL). With regard to
airport infrastructure, there have been several phased development programmes within a
Master Plan originally formulated in 1981. These developments have been funded by the
Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund (OECF) of Japan. The Phase II is presently in
progress, with the Stage 1 that consists of improvements to the passenger terminals, addition
of cargo terminal space, rehabilitation of runways and the construction of a passenger pier
and air bridges having been concluded in November 2005. Presently, a feasibility study is
being conducted that is funded by the OECF for Stage 2 of the Phase II Master Plan. This
study envisages the development of BIA with a second runway as well, as expansion of
passenger terminals, as some of the present facilities will become inadequate by 2010.
While the study of a 2nd runway is in progress, there have been discussions regarding the
construction of a 2nd international airport in Sri Lanka, there have been preliminary studies in
Kuda Oya located in the southern part of Sri Lanka. However, new locations in and around
Weerawila are also being investigated at present.
Land Transport
As Sri Lanka is an island and as there is no land bridge across the Palks Strait, there are no
international intra-regional roads or railways at present. No agreement between Sri Lanka and
India exists to study the possibility of such a land bridge, even though there have been
sporadic attempts to commence such a project over the last three decades.
vii
The Sri Lanka Railways has a relatively small and mainly broad gauge (1,676 mm) railway,
with a route network length of about 1,640 track kms comprising several lines. If such a land
bridge were to be constructed it would connect to the Trans Asian Railway (TAR) via the
Indian Railway network which is also now been converted to broad gauge.
The inventory length of roads is at present 96,346 kms, returning a road density of 1.47 kms
per square km of land area. However, the estimated road length is 108,000 kms, with over
25,000 kms in paved condition. The active motorized vehicle fleet of around 1.2 million
vehicles has been growing by between 5 to 8 percent per annum over the last decade. Hence,
the Government of Sri Lanka has decided to implement a policy to develop a network of new
Expressways/Limited Access Roads to supplement the existing road capacity. As such, 400
km of such high mobility roads required to support the island’s growing economy have been
identified for development as a high mobility network. These could be part of an Asian
Highway system in the future if a land bridge were to be built between India and Sri Lanka.
Ferry Services
One of the railway lines is from Colombo, north bound to Talaimannar Pier on the north-
western coast of Sri Lanka opposite Rameswaram, located across the Palk Strait in Tamil
Nadu State of India. This line from Colombo to Talaimannar is 337 kms. Both lines have
been designated links in the Trans-Asian Railway (TAR). However, the service was
suspended on the northern section of this line from June 1990 due to the civil conflict in the
north and northeast. Even though there was a bi-lateral agreement to connect the Sri Lanka
railway at Talaimannar with the Indian Railways at Rameshwaran, by means of a ferry
service, this was abandoned in the mid 1980s due to civil strife in the northern areas of Sri
Lanka. In 1984, this service was carrying around 120, 000 passengers per annum even though
it was open only for around 6 months of the year due to the monsoon period. The channel that
was used is considered very shallow and navigation of modern day vessels is doubtful, even
if the services were to be resumed. More recently two other proposals have been made for the
re-connection of Sri Lanka and southern India by direct shipping services. These are
proposals for ferry services between (a) Colombo and Tuticorin, and (b) Colombo and
Cochin.
(a) Proposed Colombo to Tuticorin Ferry Service
The distance between Colombo and Tuticorin is approximately 140 nautical miles or 260 km.
A shipping service operated between Colombo and Tuticorin before India and Sri Lanka
received independence in 1947. This service was suspended in the wake of civil unrest in the
immediate post-independence era. Two decades ago, both countries decided to revive this
link and a passenger jetty was constructed at Tuticorin for this purpose, but the proposal was
dropped following the outbreak of civil conflict in Sri Lanka. Both governments recently
(2004) indicated their approval in principle to a re-launching of this service, but concerns by
viii
the government of Tamil Nadu State about security matters have so far prevented its re-
commencement. The service would primarily satisfy the requirements of tourists to visit the
sacred city of Madurai, located 212 km north of Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu State. The ferry was
to be equipped with a Roll-on-Roll-of (Ro-Ro) deck and would carry buses and trucks, in
addition to private cars.
(b) Proposed Colombo to Cochin Ferry Service
An alternative proposal was discussed between the national governments of India and Sri
Lanka for the establishment of a ferry service between Colombo and the Port of Cochin in
Karnataka State of India. The distance involved is 310 nautical miles, or 574 km.
Maritime Services
Sri Lanka has been located on a principal maritime route since the early discoverers set sail in
their sailing craft and other seagoing vessels. Historically, therefore seafarers have been
calling on the Port of Colombo for hundreds of years, given its natural advantage due to its
geographical location. Traditional exports, such as tea, rubber and coconut, were the reason
for calling in these early years.
In recent years, there is a great desire to develop Sri Lanka as a Mega Hub to be the Gateway
to the Indian sub continent and ambitious plans are being formulated to the achievement of
this strategy. Its location is ideal for the hub concept being in the southern tip of India and
being able to provide good connectivity to both the Far East and the Middle East with respect
to container services. Successive governments have expressed their desire to develop the
Colombo Port in particular to be well ahead of other ports in the region in its capability to
handle container traffic. Aggressive implementable development plans are necessary to meet
advancements in containerized cargo handling and to resolve three major challenges:
• To address the present capacity constraints;
• The impact of the development of Mega-Carriers; and
• To compete with the rapid development of other regional ports.
Feasibility studies, investigations and proposals have been considered from time-to-time over
recent years. A Master Plan for development of all the Ports in Sri Lanka has been prepared
with recommendations by a study team under technical assistance by the ADB. The Colombo
South Harbour (CSH) development project is considered the key to success.
Colombo Port experienced a period of rapid growth during the 90’s, averaging 20% p.a. until
1998 when the growth came to a standstill. The overall volumes than remained almost static
at around 1.7 million TEU per year for five years until 2003, despite the rapid growth in the
ISC base market. Growth resumed again with 11% growth in 2003. Transhipment accounted
for about 70% of Colombo’s total container traffic, of which more than three quarters of this
ix
transhipment was traffic to and from the ISC region comprising of India, Pakistan and
Bangladesh. When traffic distribution is analysed between 1998 and 2002, the transhipment
share of total ISC cargo declined from 52% to 45% as direct calls to those countries
increased. This was against a back drop of increased ISC transhipment market of 8% per
annum, i.e. 1.5 million to 2.1 million TEUs, thus indicating a loss of market share by
Colombo. However, since then there is an increased growth in TEUs handled.
There are predictions that the ISC economies will perform better in the future than the past,
and as such the Colombo Port’s capacity should be increased to benefit from the increased
import/export activities of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
The latest actual figures for the year 2005 gives a reason for optimism with the Port of
Colombo handling 2,039,234 TEUs during the first 10 months of 2005, an increase of 10.4%
when compared to last year’s corresponding volumes. Basing on a 70% transhipment
container throughput, the Colombo transhipment volume had a growth rate of 10.3% and the
increase in domestic volume was 10.7%.
The total number of vessels, by type of vessel, calling over at the Port of Colombo in the year
2004 was as follows:
Container Carriers 3,057 Conventional Cargo 234 Dry Bulk Carriers 171 Oil Tankers 108 Roll on Roll off 89 Passenger Vessels 15 Other Vessels 539 Total 4.213
There are compelling reasons why the Port of Colombo should undergo drastic development
and modernization. Rapid trade growth is predicted in the region with most countries tending
to treat maritime activity only as a service to trade. However, there are countries such as the
UK, Singapore and more recently Dubai in the UAE, who have developed maritime activities
as a major business generating employment and revenue that contributes to the National
Economy. Sri Lanka should formulate a strategy and position itself learning from these
success stories.
The following are key reasons why the Colombo South Harbour Project should take off:
• Significant increase in Sri Lanka’s external trade is forecast;
• Regional economic growth is very rapid and is higher than the previously predicted
levels;
• Big demand for transhipment facilities;
• Port development in the region, especially in India, promoting feeder connectivity;
• Advancements in the design and construction of container vessels (5th generation)
x
• Technological advancements in port and container handling operations;
• Greater use of IT Systems (e-Commerce, e-Business etc.)
• Structural changes in shipping lines; and
• Impact of high premiums in the international maritime insurance market.
Apart from the development plans for the Port of Colombo, there are tentative proposals for
six other port development projects at other ports scattered around the country, including
those at Trincomalee and Galle.
South Asia is a populous region and identified as potential for rapid economic growth .The
cargo catchments area for Sri Lanka could be expanded to include other neighbouring parts of
the world. The National Ports and Shipping Policy of Sri Lanka document states the
following:
In the areas of multi-country consolidation, entreport trade, bulk shipping,
salvage and towage, ship chandelling, ship management, maritime surveying,
marine insurance and legal services, Sri Lanka has the potential to significantly
increase its business volumes by getting a better share of the global market.
1
1 COUNTRY PROFILE
1.1 Geography
The island nation of Sri Lanka lies in the Indian Ocean just north of the equator and south of
India. It is separated from Tamil Nadu State of India by the Palk Strait, which at its narrowest
point is only 32 kms wide. The country occupies a strategic position near the main sea lanes
between Europe and Asia, a factor which has allowed it to develop as a transhipment point
for cargo originating or destined for the Indian sub-continent.
The maximum length of the island (from north to south) is 435 kms, while the maximum
width (east to west) is 240 kms. Sri Lanka has a land area of 65,610 km2 and a coastline
measuring about 1,600 kms. Despite its small size, Sri Lanka has a great deal of geographic
and climatic diversity with the island is divided into three zones of wet, dry and intermediate,
taking into consideration agricultural land use, distribution of the forest species, rainfall,
topography and soils. On its southern and eastern coasts, Sri Lanka has an abundance of
scenic beaches that over the years have become a major tourist attraction. The capital,
Colombo, with its highly developed seaport, is located on the west coast.
1.2 Population
Sri Lanka has a population of 19.5 million growing at around 1.2 percent per annum. The
land area is 65,610 sq kms, with a population density of 310 persons per sq km. The labour
force in 2004 was estimated at 8.0 million with a Labour Force Participation Rate of 47.8
percent and an unemployment rate of 8.5 percent. The employment is distributed among
agriculture (34.1%), industry (21.4%) and services (44.5%). Government employment is 1.1
million. Life Expectation at Birth is 71.7 years for males and 76.4 for females. The overall
literacy rate is 92.5% with males at 94.5% and females at 90.6%. The Human Development
Index is 0.74 ranking Sri Lanka as 96th among 177 countries. Poverty at an income less than
US $1 per day is 6.6% of the population. The Gini coefficient of Household Incomes is 0.46.
1.3 Economy
The growth of the economy over the last 15 years is given in Table 1. During the last five
decades-since Independence, Sri Lanka’s economy has grown by an annual average rate of
4.2%, but this has been insufficient to elevate the country to a high growth path due to deep
rooted deficiencies in growth promotion factors. Despite the prolonged civil conflict in the
country, the growth performance of the economy has been relatively good and is seen as
evidence that the policy reforms associated with the restructuring and liberalization of the
economy, which commenced in the 1990’s, are working. Nevertheless, the country has not
lived up to its growth potential and economic performance still lags well behind East and
Southeast Asia. The Government now seeks to attain greater stability and has adopted higher
GDP growth targets. Achievement of these targets will depend crucially on the application of
2
more radical reforms, as well as sustained progress in the implementation of a peace
settlement of the long running conflict in the country’s northeast. The development of the
economic infrastructure needed for faster growth is to be accelerated through continued
policy, market, institutional and infrastructure reforms. Amidst agitation from some sectors of
the public, social infrastructure reforms that could create a sufficiently high level of human
capital are also being implemented.
Table 1: Sri Lankan GDP (1990-2004)
Year
GDP Rs Mn at 1996 Factor
Cost Prices
Growth Rates
1990 516,153
1991 539,955 4.6%
1992 563,062 4.3%
1993 602,172 6.9%
1994 636,061 5.6%
1995 670,742 5.5%
1996 695,934 3.8%
1997 739,763 6.3%
1998 774,796 4.7%
1999 808,340 4.3%
2000 857,035 6.0%
2001 843,794 -1.5%
2002 877,160 4.0%
2003 930,057 6.0%
2004 979,925 5.4%
Average Annual Growth Rate 4.7%
(Source: Annual Report, Central Bank of Sri Lanka, 2005)
In 2004, the nominal GDP of Sri Lanka was estimated to have reached about $20 billion and
GDP per capita about $1,031. This places Sri Lanka at the higher end of the SAARC
countries in terms of per capita income. Table 2 gives a further analysis of the GDP.
3
Table 2: The State of the Economy in 2004
GDP at current market prices in US$ 20.1 US$ bn
Structure of GDP
Agriculture 17.8%
Industry 26.8%
Services 55.4%
External Trade
Exports 5.751 US$ bn
Imports 8.000 US$ bn
Growth of External Trade
Exports 17.9% p.a.
Imports 26.0% p.a.
(Source: Annual Report, Central Bank, 2005)
1.4 Trade
The value of Sri Lanka’s exports to the rest of the world grew strongly (by 8.1 percent per
year) over the 18 year period 1985-2003, as may be seen in Table 3. Within this period, the
total value of exports declined in two successive years (2001 and 2002) but rebounded to
grow by 9.5 percent in 2003. The three top commodities exported are garments, tea and
precious stones, together comprising 62 percent of the total value of Sri Lanka’s exports to
the rest of the world in 2003. The same three commodities also accounted for 62 percent of
the total export value in 1990, showing that they grew in line with total export value.
During the period shown above, imports grew at a similar pace to exports, averaging growth
of 7.9 percent per year, but in 2003 import growth was more than double that of exports,
possibly a reflection of strengthening demand for manufacturing machinery and raw
materials inputs, as part of the economic recovery in that year. The top three import
commodities - basic manufactured products, machines and transport equipment and
miscellaneous manufactures – accounted for more than two thirds of the total value of
imports in 2003.
Sri Lanka’s external trade between the other SAARC countries for the period 2000-2004 is
given in Table 4 Trade with Sri Lanka accounts for 1/3rd of the total trade between all
SAARC countries, with Sri Lanka/India trade volumes accounting for around 30%.
The volume of trade is given in different units of measurements such as:
• numbers (or units) e.g. vehicles;
• kilograms (kgs) e.g. rice;
• meters (m) e.g. rope;
4
• pieces e.g. electrical items;
• sq. meters e.g. carpet;
• liters e.g. oil;
• cubic meters; and
• carats.
The overall distribution of trade between the SAARC countries by volume of trade and mode
of transport for the year 2004 is given in Tables 5 and 6 for exports and imports respectively.
The potential to expand intra-regional trade rapidly from a low base by liberalizing bilateral
trading arrangements is well illustrated by the experience of India and Sri Lanka following
the implementation of a free trade agreement between them in 2001. In the following year
(2002), the value of the bilateral trade between India and Sri Lanka registered a 48 percent
increase, with Sri Lanka’s exports to India increasing from $71 million in 2001 to $168
million in 2002 and India’s exports to Sri Lanka increasing from $ 604 million in 2001 to
$831 in 2002 (ADB Regional Cooperation Strategy and Program 2004-2007, South Asia,
Second Draft August 2004). This trade agreement also stimulated new Foreign Direct
Investment, particularly from India to Sri Lanka in a wide range of products, such as rubber-
based products and information and communications technology. In 2004, Sri Lanka and
India agreed to convert the Indo-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (ISLFTA) into a
Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) incorporating trade and service
agreements. The Pakistan-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (PSLFTA) was signed in
February 2005.
5
Table 3: Trends in value of trade between Sri Lanka and the rest of the world
1985 1990 1995 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
Exports1 ($mn) 1,264.9 1,895.3 3,801.0 4,819.9 4,621.8 5,458.8 4,722.4 4,679.9 5,125.9 5,757
Imports3 ($mn) 1,831.8 2,636.4 4,481.0 6,263.4 6,255.2 6,688.0 5,730.8 6,022.8 7,173.8 8,000
(Source: Annual Report, Central Bank of Sri Lanka)
Table 4: Sri Lanka’s External Trade with SAARC Countries (2000-2004) – Rs Million2
Country
Exports Imports
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
Bangladesh 775 901 974 1,078 1,408 270 183 374 544 779
Bhutan - - - - - - - - - -
India 4,398 6,433 16,312 23,679 39,616 45,477 53,750 81,585 103,588 145,625
Nepal 61 30 85 160 29 7 1 18 - 8
Pakistan 2,251 2,222 2,759 3,545 3,992 5,469 6,597 6,303 6,851 10,920
Maldives 8,916 4,508 4,392 5,353 6,216 2,377 3,138 2,986 2,186 2,008
TOTAL 14,376 14,094 24,522 33,815 51,262 53,600 63,699 91,266 113,169 159,339
(Source: Annual Report, Central Bank of Sri Lanka)
1 FOB value for exports and CIF value for imports
2 In 2004, 1US$ was equivalent to approximately Rs 100
6
Table 5: Quantities Exported to SAARC Countries (2004)
Air Freight Sea Freight Bangladesh India Nepal Pakistan Maldives Bangladesh India Nepal Pakistan Maldives Units 16,313 426,162 1,166 6,320 105,601 28,877 16,569,623 2,330 37,895 469,011
Kgs 139,951 3,417,532 3,003 2,971,353 7,986,159 6,523,415 391,431,768 193,566 54,588,873 20,269,836
Metres 23,775 Pieces 15 613 2,923 120,952 36,520
Sq M 1 18,267 356 28,752 445,045 72,970
Litres 878 52,403 4,015,313
Cubic M 404 42,753
Carrots 189 99,415 45,283 (Source: Customs Department)
Table 6: Quantities Imported from SAARC Countries (2004)
Air Freight Sea Freight Bangladesh India Nepal Pakistan Maldives Bangladesh India Nepal Pakistan Maldives Units 1 1,955,506 38,237 683,349 7,772 86,841,041 35 209,996 116,872
Kgs 52,486 4,548,760 195 393,064 1,387,126 7,857,285 3,238,257,410 18,013 145,361,262 18,581,249
Metres 90,114 13,924 Pieces 7 627 49 68 46,147 779
Sq M 4,747 3 5,261,472 17,043 Litres 4,710 975,833 960 990
Cubic M 66,561
Carrots 660,631 15,299 (Source: Customs Department)
7
1.5 Tourism
Foreign tourist arrivals in Sri Lanka increased by an average of 5 percent per year during the
13-year period 1990-2003 (see Table 7), despite the dampening effects of the post 9/11
worldwide recession in tourism and travel and of the on-going security problems associated
with the civil conflict. In 2003, however, the tourism industry in Sri Lanka was resurgent,
with visitor arrivals increasing dramatically (27 percent) to reach 500,000 in that year.
Table 7: Foreign tourist arrivals in Sri Lanka, 1990 – 2003
1990 1995 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
Average annual rate of
growth %
1990-2004 2003-2004
266,245
403,401
436,440
400,414
336,794
393,171
500,642
566,202
5.0%
11.3%
(Source: Sri Lanka Statistical Data Sheet Year 2003 (www.statistics.gov.lk)
Tourist arrivals from SAARC countries account for around 20-25% of all tourist arrivals with
Indian tourists making up over 80% of arrivals from SAARC countries. The details for the
past five years are shown in Table 8:
Table 8: Tourist Arrivals from SAARC countries (2000-2004)
Origin No of Passengers per year
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
Bangladesh 1,218 1,745 1,521 1,830 1,953
India 31,860 33,924 69,960 90,603 105,151
Maldives 7,935 9,019 9,861 11,583 15,463
Nepal 534 508 789 980 1,004
Pakistan 10,005 8,562 6,756 9,704 9,638
Bhutan n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
(Source: Airport Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka)
Section 1.5.1- Outbound Tourism
Travel within the SAARC region is also important for strengthening religious and cultural
ties between these countries. For example, even though Lumbini the birthplace of Lord
Buddha is in Nepal, the Nepal Report asserts that it has not ‘been able to use this potentially
due to a number of reasons, among others the lack of smooth connectivity’. Thus it is clear
that there is a latent demand for such travel, which would increase if direct flights are
introduced.
8
On the other hand, if we were to take the case of outbound travel to Buddhagaya, the
foremost place of religious interest to Sri Lankans in India, only less than 1% of the total
travel to India was made on the flights to Gaya even in spite of Sri Lankan Airlines operating
direct flights.
It is clear from the above, that outbound tourism is in most cases a function of economic
growth. The present outbound tourism to India and Nepal is therefore included in the total
number of passengers in further analysis and not treated separately.
In the case of people of Indian Origin, while linguistic and cultural connectivity is a strong
generator of travel, the exact quantum of such is not known. One could assume that the large
portion of travel up to 1984 by the Ferry related to such travel, this form of low cast travel is
not available today. It is therefore possible that only a fraction of the potential demand has
been realized. This is further strengthen by the fact that nearly one half of all departures to
India by air are to Chennai.
1.6 Transport
1.6.1 Early Development of Transport
Sri Lanka’s earliest known transport dates back to the 1st century BC when a road network
connected the then capital of Anuradhapura to the coastal ports in the northeast, north and
east of the country. These roads were dominant in the dry zone of the country, especially
around the areas of rice production and connected places of worship and the seats of the
different kingdoms up to the 10th century BC. Roads opened up and closed with the rise and
fall of various kingdoms.
The roads in the coastal belt were added after the 11th century with the migration of people to
these areas. Roads to the up-country areas were only built after the arrival of the Europeans in
the coastal area.
1.6.2 Inland Waterways
The arrival of the Dutch in the 18th century saw the development of a canal network or
waterways in the Western Province that extended from Kalutara to Puttalam along the coast
9
with a total length of over 175 kms. These were effective in navigating the large rivers, as
well as the marshy areas in the Wet Zone, and were used by barges to access the coconut and
spice plantation areas and connect them to the port in Colombo for export. It was the
waterways that provided the catalyst to begin the growth of Colombo and its suburbs as the
country’s economic and social centre, which has continued until today even though the
waterway itself now lies unused being for the most part covered with salvinia and with many
sections being non-navigable.
1.6.3 Land Transport
The growth of import-export activities following the opening of the Suez Canal led to the
Port of Colombo becoming a focal point for inland transport. With Colombo being
increasingly used by successive colonial ruling powers as the administrative capital, it
evolved as the most important hub for an inland transport network.
The construction of most sections of the present-day road network dates to the period of the
British. Initially, the roads were constructed mostly for political and military consideration.
However, with the promotion of coffee cultivation after 1830, road building was then
considered a priority for reasons of economy and trade. The shift to tea production from 1880
further expanded the road network. Presently, the road network has an estimated 108,000 kms
of road length with around 25,000 kms being paved roads.
The desire for more reliability and speed in transporting plantation produce led to the
completion of the railway line to Kandy from Colombo in 1867. The period up to 1894 then
saw the extension of several lines up to 1,520 kms covering all the provincial capitals and the
railway established itself as the primary means of passenger and goods travel. Presently, the
railway has a track length of 1,449 kms connecting 168 stations and 144 sub-stations. It has
131 locomotives and power sets in active service with around 550 passenger carriages and
958 freight wagons in operating condition.
1.6.4 Current Land Transport Activity
Transport activity since independence has been increasing at 5 to 6 percent per annum, with a
per capita increase of around 4 percent per annum. The road transport now accounts for 95
percent of passenger travel and 97 percent of freight transport. Buses carry 68 percent of the
passengers, while para-transit in the form of three wheeler taxis makes up another 2 percent.
Transport activity is most dominant within the Colombo City and its environs with an
estimated 120,000 vehicles entering the city daily carrying over 1 million passengers. Of this,
68% arrive by bus, whereas the railway carries another 5% with only 26% using all the other
modes of private transport (Table 9).
Table 9: Transport Modal Shares: Sri Lanka (2001)
Mode Vehicle Kms Passenger Kms Ton Kms Carried
10
Operated (mn) Carried (mn) (mn) Bus 966 (08%) 45,407 (68%)
Private Vehicles 7,861 (64%) 15,831 (24%)
Railways 11 (00%) 3,600 (5%) 102 (02%)
Three Wheelers 1,548 (13%) 1,161 (2%)
Lorry/Land Veh. 1,813 (15%) 907 (1%) 4,532 (97%)
Water Transport 3 (00%) 32 (01%)
Total 12,202 (100%) 66,906 (100%) 4,666 (100%)
(Source: Kumarage, A.S., in Sri Lanka National Atlas, Survey Department, 2001)
1.6.5 Ports
There are seven Ports in Sri Lanka identified for development under the Port Development
Policy. They are all under the Sri Lankan Ports Authority (SLPA), which is a State Enterprise
directed by the Ministry of Ports and Civil Aviation. The seven Ports are as follows:
• Colombo - the Capital of Sri Lanka in the west;
• Galle - in the south;
• Hambantota - also in the south that is indicated for major expansion plans under
the Southern Development Plan;
• Oluvil – in the east;
• Trincomalee – in the east, a natural deep water harbour;
• Point Pedro – in the north; and
• Kankesanthurai – also in the north.
Even though Sri Lanka has the world’s largest natural harbour in Trincomalee, it has been
Colombo that has developed due to its strategic location being on the route between the Far
East and Europe. Even though both Trincomalee and Galle are international ports, only
Colombo is equipped to handle containerized cargo. Over 95% of the cargo now moves
through Colombo. Approximately 20% of Sri Lanka’s export and import cargo moves in bulk
and break-bulk form and this is handled at 12 conventional berths, having a capacity to
handle vessels up to 23,000 DWT. A summary of the throughput of the ports is given in
Table 10.
Table 10: Port Services (2003-4)
Item 2003 20043 Vessels arrived (No.) 4,032 3,883
• Colombo 3,838 3,688
• Galle 73 88
• Trincomalee 121 107
3 Provisional Estimates
11
Total cargo handled (MT ) 30,500,000 33,962,000
• Colombo 28,198,000 31,299,000
• Galle 482,000 581,000
• Trincomalee 1,820,000 2,082,000
Total container traffic (TEU) 1,959,000 2,221,000 Transhipment container (TEU) 1,371,000 1,531,000
(Source: Annual Reports, Sri Lanka Ports Authority)
1.6.6 Airports
The older airports used during World War II and Ratmalana airport were initially used for
international flights, but are now used only for domestic travel. Due to the security situation
prevailing in recent times, these were also restricted only for military use in many instances.
The only international airport was built in 1961 named the Bandaranaike International
Airport (BIA) and is located at Katunayake, a distance of 32 kms north of Colombo. It has a
runway 3,368 metres in length and presently handles over 26,000 flights annually. The annual
passenger throughput is around 4.1 million, while the cargo tonnage handled was over
145,000 metric tonnes. There are presently over 30 different air carriers using the airport,
including 8 cargo carriers calling at Colombo, that are providing flights to 44 destinations
making up over 35,000 annual aircraft movements from the BIA.
1.6.7 Transport Map
A map showing the location of major transport infrastructure within Sri Lanka is shown in
Figure 1.
12
Figure 1: Transport Map of Sri Lanka
13
2 PROFILE OF CORRIDORS/SECTORS
Sri Lanka being an island nation has only limited regional corridors within SAARC. As shown in the
table below, it has only air and maritime links with other countries in the SAARC region.
Table 11: Regional Transport Corridors
Bangladesh Bhutan India Maldives Nepal Pakistan Sri Lanka
Aviation Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Maritime Y N Y Y N Y Y*
Rail Y N Y N Y Y N
Road Y Y Y N Y Y N
Inland Waterways
Y N Y N N N N
Borders Y Y Y N Y Y N
Dryports/ICD Y Y Y N Y Y N
Y= Where regional links exist
N= Where regional links do not exist
* Includes the Rail-Ferry service that does not operate at present
2.1 Aviation Sector
Both domestic and international air travel increased during the last three years. Vital reforms
are being made in the civil aviation sector leading to a greater degree of deregulation and
bilateral liberalization agreements to attract more international carriers and tourists to the
country.
Three domestic airlines operated during 2004, with the first civil helicopter service
recommencing commercial operations in July 2004, after a lapse of eight and a half years. Sri
Lankan Airlines introduced three water aerodromes or air taxis aiming at increasing domestic
air transportation.
During 2004, 37 international airlines, including 8 cargo airlines, operated in Sri Lanka. The
number of passengers who passed through the BIA, and freight tonnage handled increased by
25 per cent and 18 per cent, respectively, in 2004.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka (CAASL) provides more flexibility to regulate
civil air operations within Sri Lanka, while being responsible for formulating aviation
policies, preparing aviation development plans and strategies, enforcing aviation safety
requirements and coordinating with international civil aviation organizations. The Ministry of
Ports and Civil Aviation has initiated the formulation of an aviation policy for Sri Lanka
covering the overall development and the management of the aviation sector. To further
enhance the liberalization the Air Navigation Act No. 13 of 1950 will be replaced by the
proposed Civil Aviation Act that would provide greater flexibility in civil aviation.
14
Sri Lanka faces several deficiencies in the attracting major airlines. Of them, insufficient
related infrastructure and inadequate ancillary services, such as high cost bunkering services,
poor road transportation and insufficient accommodation constitute the major shortcomings.
This has inhibited Sri Lanka from emerging as a main hub, harnessing its strategic
geographical advantage.
Existing policies of the Government of Sri Lanka with respect to the aviation sector are:
(i) Foreign charter and freighter operators being allowed operations to Sri Lanka
under an ‘open skies’ policy; and
(ii) Fifty Nine (59) bilateral air services agreements under the Government’s
pursuit of a liberalized market access on a reciprocal basis, four of which are
with SAARC countries.
2.1.1 Aviation Gateways in SAARC Region
In order to study regional travel patterns by air transport, the following 20 international
airports in the SAARC region were included in the study at the 2nd Technical Committee
Meeting held in October 2005 in Kathmandu:
1. Bangalore
2. Calicut
3. Chennai
4. Chittagong
5. Cochin
6. Colombo
7. Dhaka
8. Delhi
9. Gaya
(Buddagaya)
10. Hyderabad
11. Kathmandu
12. Karachi
13. Kolkota
14. Lahore
15. Male/Gan
16. Mumbai
17. Paro
18. Tiruchchirapali
19. Trivandrum
20. Varansi
Sri Lanka has direct flights between 3 other SAARC countries at present. These are India,
Maldives and Pakistan with 106 direct flights per week to 10 Indian cities with 5 flights per
week to Karachi in Pakistan (with 2 more negotiated last year) and a further 27 flights per
week to the Maldives. Chennai in India has the highest number of flights to a single
destination amounting to 36 flights per week. Figure 2 shows a route map of air services
within the SAARC region. Sri Lanka has bilateral agreements with each of these three
SAARC countries to which there are flights from Colombo. It also has an agreement with
Bangladesh to which there are no flights at the present time. The details of the agreements are
as follows:
Figure 2: SAARC Air Routes from Sri Lanka
16
2.1.2 Air Services Agreement between Sri Lanka and India
The agreement provides for operating the designated airline of Sri Lanka, which is Sri
Lankan Airlines (UL), that may operates as follows:
• Points of Departure: Points in Sri Lanka (see below);
• Intermediate Points: None;
• Points in India:
Operating at present
(i) Tirichchirapalli (unlimited frequencies);
(ii) Madras (7 frequencies per week);
(iii) Trivandrum (unlimited frequencies);
(iv) Mumbai and beyond as maybe agreed (7 frequencies per week);
(v) Delhi (7 frequencies per week);
(vi) Calicut (7 frequencies per week);
(vii) Bangalore (7 frequencies per week);
(viii) Gaya (unlimited frequencies);
(ix) Cochin (unlimited frequencies); and
(x) Hyderabad (unlimited frequencies).
Not operating at present (all unlimited frequencies)
(i) Varanasi;
(ii) Kolkota;
(iii) Patna;
(iv) Lucknow;
(v) Guwahati;
(vi) Bhubaneshwar;
(vii) Khajuraho;
(viii) Aurangabad;
(ix) Goa;
(x) Jaipur;
(xi) Port Blair;
(xii) Amristrar;
(xiii) Vishakapatnam; and
(xiv) Ahemadabad.
• Points Beyond:
Points beyond Mumbai have been agreed as Karachi and Sharjah.
The designated airlines of India, which are Indian Airlines, Air India, Jet Airways and Air
Sahara, may operate as follows:
17
• Points of Departure: Points in India (see above);
• Intermediate Points: None;
• Points in Sri Lanka:
(i) Colombo or Kankesanthurai; and
(ii) Colombo and if desired beyond.
• Frequency: The designated airlines of India are allowed the same number of flights
from points in India to Sri Lanka as operated by the designated airlines of Sri Lanka;
and
• Traffic Rights: The designated airlines of both Sri Lanka and India may exercise 5th
freedom traffic rights for their operation to other SAARC countries.
2.1.3 Air Services Agreement between Sri Lanka and Maldives
The agreement provides for operating the designated airline of Sri Lanka (UL) may operate
as follows:
• Points of Departure: Colombo;
• Intermediate Points: Not Specified;
• Points in Maldives: Male; and
• Points Beyond: Four Points beyond are to be determined by subsequent agreement.
The designated airline of Maldives is Air Maldives, which may operate as follows:
• Points of Departure: Male;
• Intermediate Points: None;
• Points in Sri Lanka: Colombo;
• Frequency: The designated airline of Maldives is allowed the same number of flights
from points in Maldives to Sri Lanka as operated by the designated airlines of Sri
Lanka; and
• Traffic Rights: The designated airlines of Sri Lanka may exercise 5th freedom traffic
rights for their operations to Tokyo, Zurich, London, Dubai, one point in Italy, one
point in France and Cochin. The 5th freedom traffic rights by the designated airline
of the Maldives to be agreed upon in future. The designated airlines of both
countries may exercise 5th freedom traffic rights between respective capitals and
SAARC capitals.
2.1.4 Air Services Agreement between Sri Lanka and Pakistan
The agreement provides for operating the designated airline of Sri Lanka as follows:
18
• Points of Departure: Colombo;
• Intermediate Points: Without 5th freedom traffic rights in respect of Americas, U.K,
Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait and Qatar;
• Points in Pakistan: Karachi and Lahore; and
• Points Beyond: see above.
The designated airlines of Pakistan may operate as follows:
• Points of Departure: Points in Pakistan;
• Intermediate Points: No 5th freedom traffic rights in respect of Americas, Australia,
Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand, South Korea and Philippines;
• Points in Sri Lanka: Colombo; and
• Points Beyond: see above.
2.1.5 Air Services Agreement between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh
The agreement provides for operating the designated airline of Sri Lanka (UL), which may
operates as follows:
• Points of Departure: Points in Sri Lanka;
• Intermediate Points: Any number of points;
• Points in Bangladesh: Dhaka; and
• Points Beyond: Any number of points.
The designated airline of Bangladesh is GMG Airlines, which may operate as follows:
• Points of Departure: Points in Bangladesh;
• Intermediate Points: Any number of points;
• Points in Sri Lanka: Colombo;
• Points beyond: Any number of points;
• Frequency: Agreed that both contracting parties may operate 3 frequencies per
week, but the 3rd frequency shall be only after concluding a commercial agreement.
However, no flights operate at present; and
• Traffic Rights: From Intermediate points and Points Beyond to be agreed by both
contracting parties. The designated airline of Bangladesh is permitted to use Male as
an intermediate or beyond points with full 5th freedom traffic rights. The designated
airline of Sri Lanka is permitted to use Kathmandu as an intermediate or beyond
point with full 5th freedom traffic rights.
19
Table 12 gives the details of the flights that are operating at present:
Table 12: Sri Lanka’s Air Service with SAARC Countries
(Source: Airport & Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka)
2.2 Maritime Sector
In 2004, over 900 carriers called over in Sri Lanka from diverse countries as far afield as:
Canada, UK, countries in Europe, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Jamaica, Japan, Korea,
SAARC
Country
Airport Airport
Code
Carrier
(Airline Code)
Flights
per
Week
India
Delhi DEL UL 7 + 7
Mumbai BOM UL 4 + 4
Tiruchchirapalli TRZ UL 10 +10
Trivandrum TRV UL 12 +12
Cochin COC UL 11 +11
Bangalore BLR UL 7 + 7
Calicut CCJ UL 9 + 9
Chennai MAA UL 15 +15
Chennai MAA IC 7 + 7
Chennai MAA JAI 7 + 7
Chennai MAA SAH 7 + 7
Hyderabad HYD UL 7 + 7
India/Pakistan Karachi / Mumbai KHI/BOM UL 3 + 3
Pakistan Karachi KHI PIA 2 + 2
Maldives
Male MLE UL 15 +15
Male MLE Euro Fly 1
Male MLE EK 1
Dubai / Male DXB/MLE EK 6
Narita / Male MLE UL 2
London / Male MLE UL 2
KL / Male MLE MAS 1
Male / Dubai MLE/DXB EK 5
Male / Vienna MLE/VIE Al 1
Male / Düsseldorf MLE/DUS LTU 1
Male / Munich MLE/MUC LTU 1
Male / Frankfurt MLE/FRA LTU 1
Male / Doha MLE/DOH QTR 1
20
China , India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and the Middle East. Some of the major carriers, such as
Maersk, Xpress, Pegasus, Orient, APL, Kota, and ZIM etc were frequent callers at Colombo.
2.2.1 Port of Colombo
The Port of Colombo has a water area of 184.6 hectares, with 3 breakwaters of 1,570 m, 810
m and 330 m respectively. It can presently handle Post Panamax-4th generation ships. The
Colombo Port handles 95% of vessels calling to Sri Lanka and most vessels berth for cargo
handling, though there are also facilities for the berthing of passenger vessels and Navy
vessels, as well as oil and gas bunkering services and dry dock facilities for vessel repair.
There are three container terminals in the Colombo Port as follows:
i) Jaya Container Terminal (JCT) operated by SLPA;
ii) South Asia Gateway Terminal ( SAGT) by P&O Ports; and
iii) Unity Container Terminal (UCT) by SLPA.
There are two quays - the Bandaranaike Quay with a passenger terminal and the Prince
Vijaya Quay. The entire perimeter harbour is well secured with the land areas between the
water front and the Port boundary being well developed. There is a wide Perimeter Road and
a number of access gates.
Colombo Port’s Indian Sub Continent (ISC) cargo handling is mainly for three countries
within the SARCC - India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The ISC traffic distribution averaged
around 85% India; 7% Pakistan and 8% Bangladesh.
The port experienced rapid growth during the 90’s averaging 20% pa until 1998 when the
growth came to a standstill. The overall volumes remained almost static at around 1.7 million
TEU per year for the next five years until 2003, despite rapid growth in the ISC base market.
Growth resumed at 11% in 2003.
Transhipments account for about 70% of Colombo’s total container traffic, of which more
than three quarters is traffic to and from the ISC region comprised of India, Pakistan and
Bangaladesh. When traffic distribution is analysed between 1998 and 2002, the transhipment
share of total ISC cargo declined from 52% to 45% as direct calls to those countries
increased. This decline was against a back drop of increased ISC transhipment market of 8%
per annum, i.e. 1.5 million to 2.1 million TEUs. However, this trend has been reversed with
an increased growth in the TEUs handled in recent years.
The Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU) forecasts that ISC economies will perform better in
the future than the past. Therefore given the transhipment, there is a need to increase the
21
Colombo Port’s capacity to be able to benefit from the increased import/export activities of
India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
In light of the EIU’s projections using the latest available data, the actual figures for the year
2005 are that the port handled 2,039,234 TEUs during the first 10 months of 2005, an
increase of 10.4% when compared to last year’s corresponding volumes. Based on a 70%
transhipment container throughput, the transhipment volume has grown by 10.3% and the
domestic volume was 10.7%. SLPA accounts for 61% of the total container handling in the
port, and in September 2005 the highest ever monthly container volume of 138,385 TEUs
was recorded.
The cargo types handled in Colombo Port are classified as Containerized, Break Bulk, Dry
Bulk or Liquid Bulk. The total cargo tonnage handled during the first 10 months in 2005
increased to 28,762 thousand tonnes, from the previous year of 26,080 thousand tons, a rise
of 10.3%. Dry bulk tonnage recorded a growth of 28.7%, mainly due to the increase in
imports of bulk fertilizer, cement, gypsum and clinker. The break bulk tonnage of imports in
fertilizer and cement reported an increase of 23.8% and 21.6% respectively, but sugar imports
decreased by 78.9%. Total liquid cargo tonnage declined by 1.5% during the same period,
though palm oil imports for the first ten months of 2005 doubled to 259,140 tonnes from the
previous year’s figure of 85,565 tons - a significant increase of 202.9%.
At the 2nd Technical Committee Meeting held in October, it was decided to include only the
following 15 sea ports in the study.
1. Chennai
2. Chittagong
3. Cochin
4. Colombo
5. Haldia
6. Kandla
7. Karachi
8. Kolkota
9. Male - including Kulhudhuffushi & Hithadhoo
10. Mongla
11. Mumbai
12. Port Qasim
13. Tuticorin
14. Trincomallee
15. Vishakhapatanam
.
22
Figure 3: SAARC Maritime Routes from Sri Lanka
23
And furthermore, only the following maritime corridors were considered significant to be
studied at the present time:
2.3 Road Corridors
As Sri Lanka is an island, there are no international roads in Sri Lanka at present. Since there
is no land bridge across the Palks Strait, the road network in Sri Lanka is used only for its
internal travel requirements. There is no agreement between Sri Lanka and India to study the
possibility of a land bridge, to connect to the Asian Highway Netwrok or the Asian Railway
Network, even though there have been sporadic attempts to commence such a project, over
the last three decades.
The road sector in Sri Lanka comes under Ministry of Highways. The construction,
rehabilitation and maintenance of the National Roads are carried out by the Road
Development Authority (RDA) under the Central Government, while the Provincial Roads
are administered by the Provincial Councils and Local Governments administer most of the
other roads. There are also a significant length of roads administered by other agencies, such
as plantations, irrigation and forest departments.
The inventory length of roads is at present 96,346 km with a road density of 1.47 kms per
square km of land area. The estimated road length is however 108,000 kms, with over 25,000
being in paved condition.
From To
Male Karachi
Chittagong Karachi
Chittagong Haldia/Kolkota
Chittagong Colombo
Mumbai Karachi
Mumbai Colombo
Mumbai Male
Mumbai Port Qasim
Male Colombo
Chennai Colombo
Chennai Male
Colombo Haldia/Kolkota
Male Haldia/Kolkota
Male Tuticorin
24
Table 13: Road Length and Road Density (2001)
Road Length (km) Land
Area sq.
km
Road Density (km/sq. km) N
ati
on
al
Road
s
Pro
vin
cial
Road
s
Oth
er
Road
s
TO
TA
L
Nati
on
al
Road
s
Pro
vin
cial
Road
s
Oth
er
Road
s
TO
TA
L
11,760 15,743 68,843 96,346 65,610 0.18 0.24 1.05 1.47
(Source: Transport Database, Transportation Engineering Division, University of Moratuwa)
There were a little under one million motorised vehicles using the road network in 2001. This
is estimated to have increased to 1.2 million by end of 2004. The distribution of vehicles
given in Table 14 shows that 48% of the fleet is made up of motor cycles and another 9%
with low horse powered 3-wheelers, used mainly for hired transport. The bicycle is by far the
commonest vehicle with an estimate of 41.5 vehicles per 100 households, whereas the motor
cycle follow at 12 and other motorized vehicles at only 3.4 vehicles per 100 households
respectively in 2001.
Table 14: Estimated Operational Vehicle Fleet (2001)
Motor
Cycles
Three
Wheelers
Cars
&
Vans
Lorries Buses Land
Vehicles
Other TOTAL
464,910 294,019 105,276 31,874 57,213 1,946 955,238
(Source: Transport Database, Transportation Engineering Division, University of Moratuwa)
The active motorized vehicle fleet has been growing by between 5 to 8 percent per annum
over the last decade. Hence the Government of Sri Lanka has decided to implement a policy
to develop a network of new Expressways/Limited Access Roads to supplement the existing
road capacity. As such, the RDA has identified more than 400 km of such high mobility roads
required to support the island’s growing economy. These could be part of an Asian Highway
system in the future is a land bridge was to be built between India and Sri Lanka.
Currently there are four major highway development projects either underway, or in the final
stages of planning, (refer Figure 1):
• The Southern Highway, which is being constructed in two stages – the first of 61
kms being financed by the ADB and the second of 71 kms being financed by the
Japan Bank for International Cooperation;
25
• The proposed tolled road from Colombo to Kandy of 98 kms, for which a
Feasibility Study is presently under way;
• The 4-lane tolled Colombo-Katunayake Expressway of 25 kms (linking Colombo
with the BIA at Katunayake), which is ready for funding under a BOT/BOO or
similar arrangement; and
• The proposed Outer Circular Highway of 28 kms connecting the Southern Highway,
the proposed Colombo to Kandy Highway and the Colombo-Katunayake
Expressway, for which basic designs have been completed and environmental
clearance obtained.
2.4 Rail Corridors
The Sri Lanka Railway has a relatively small and mainly broad gauge (1,676 mm) railway
with a route network length of about 1,449 track kms. It comprises several lines, one of
which is from Colombo northbound to Talaimannar Pier on the north-western coast of Sri
Lanka opposite Rameswaram, located across the Palk Strait in Tamil Nadu State of India.
This line from Colombo to Talaimannar is 337 kms. The lines on both sides have been
designated links in the Trans-Asian Railway (TAR). However, the service has been
suspended on the northern section of this line (from Medwachchiya to Talaimannar) since
June 1990 due to the civil conflict in the north and northeast. The remainder of the network
comprises lines from Colombo to Matara in the south, Colombo to Puttalam along the
western coast, Polgahawela to Kandy and on to Matale in Central Sri Lanka, Maho to
Trincomalee and Batticalo on the eastern coast, and Medawachchiya to Kankesanturai on the
northern coast (refer Figure 1).
At present, the Sri Lanka Railways (SLR) contributes around 7 per cent and 2 per cent
respectively, of the public passenger transportation and goods transpiration within the
country. It does not have connectivity to the Indian sub-continent and is therefore not a part
of the regional rail network. Even though there was a bi-lateral agreement to connect the Sri
Lanka railway at Talaimannar with the Indian Railways at Rameshwaran, by a ferry service,
this was abandoned in the mid 1980s due to civil strife in the northern areas of Sri Lanka. The
nature of this operation is described under Section 2.5.
The state-owned SLR’s monopoly of railway transportation in Sri Lanka suffers from several
major weaknesses, emanating mostly from rigidities in pricing, management and labour,
leading to poor and declining quality of services on the one hand and heavy operational and
financial net losses on the other. The operational losses have hindered the development of
railway track, and prevented the strengthening and maintaining of the rolling stock and other
operational systems.
26
Although the Sri Lanka Railways has 1,449 track kilometres, it operates only on 1,200 track
kilometres, as services in the north have been suspended due to extensive damages. About a
half of the available track is below the minimum standard and is subject to very low
maximum speed limit and high accident risks. In 2004, the railway operated 8.4 million train
kms, carrying a total of 4,684 million passenger kms and 134 million tonne kms of freight.
There are presently plans for several new rail lines and links including a dedicated service
between Colombo and the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) at Katunayake on which
an express luxury train is being planned for.
2.5 Inland Waterway Corridors
2.5.1 Talaimannar- Rameshwaran
Sri Lanka does not have connectivity by Inland Waterways to any other SAARC country.
However, it had a ferry service between India and Sri Lanka from 1914 to the mid 1980s.
This was actually the result of a bi-lateral arrangement between the two countries and
administered by the respective railways. It was initially mostly used for the benefit of the
migrant workers from India working in the tea plantations and for their repatriation to India
under the Srima – Shastri pact as shown in Table 15 indicating the passenger movements
from 1978 onwards. However by 1984 there was a more even movement in both directions.
Table 15: Passenger Traffic on Indo-Sri Lanka Ferry Service (up to 1984)
Origin
Destination
Passengers per annum
1978 1980 1982 1984 1985
onwards
Sri Lanka
Talaimannar
India
Rameshwaran
57,000 79,405 66,580 56,458 Not
operated
India
Rameshwaran
Sri Lanka
Talaimannar
3,480 17,340 28,885 63,539 Not
operated
(Source: Sri Lanka Railways)
Note: The imbalance in the traffic is due to the Srima-Shastri pact that allowed for repatriation of migrant
workers back to India.
The service no longer operates due to the adverse security situation in the northern areas of
Sri Lanka. The conflict in the north and north-east has been responsible for disrupting the
operation of ferry services across the Palks Strait from Talaimannar Pier to Rameswaram.
However, even when it was operative, the service was open only for around 6 months of the
year to avoid bad weather in the monsoon periods. The channel that was used is considered
very shallow and navigation of modern day vessels is doubtful, even if the services were to
be resumed. Table 16 provides a summary of the present position regarding ferry transport
between India and Sri Lanka.
27
Table 16: Potential for Ferry Services
Question Report
1. What was the reason that
the service was
suspended?
The onset of the civil disturbances in the northern areas of
Sri Lanka meant that the services were intermittently
disrupted since 1983 and finally fully suspended in 1985.
2. What was the capacity of
the ferries and their
frequency?
900 Passengers per trip one way x 3 times per week for 6
months per year.
3. How does the traffic that
travelled on the ferry
now travel?
Passengers/freight?
By air. But by comparison of fares, it is most likely that
most of the traffic that used the ferry does not travel at all,
or travels by air at much less frequency.
4. Have the vessels been
sold or are they laid up?
Not known. However, it is unlikely they could be used
now.
5. What are the chances of
the service being
reinstated and why?
Yes, there is a great demand to restore a similar service. A
proposal has been made by a private company Ms. East
West Ferry Pvt. Ltd, to restore this service. Other proposals
for alternative routes e.g. from Danushkody have been
received from India as well.
6. What investment would
be required to reopen the
link?
For a modern ferry it is estimated that the:
• Capital investment would be US - $10 mn
• Annual operating cost would be US $ 1.1 mn
7. Proposed Fares Around US$ 50 per round trip: and
Freight charges US $ 6 per Metric Ton
More recently two other proposals have been made for the re-connection of Sri Lanka and
southern India by direct shipping services. These are proposals for ferry services between
Colombo and Tuticorin, and between Colombo and Cochin (Figure 4).
28
Figure 4: Proposed Ferry Services
(a) Colombo to Tuticorin Ferry Service
The distance between Colombo and Tuticorin is approximately 140 nautical miles or 260
kms. A shipping service operated between Colombo and Tuticorin before India received
independence in 1947 but this was suspended in the wake of civil unrest in the immediate
post-independence era. Two decades ago, both countries decided to revive this link and a
passenger jetty was constructed at Tuticorin for this purpose, but the proposal was dropped
following the outbreak of civil conflict in Sri Lanka. Both governments recently (2004)
indicated their approval in principle to a re-launching of this service, but concerns by the
government of Tamil Nadu State about security matters have so far prevented its re-
commencement. The service would primarily satisfy the requirements of tourists to visit the
sacred city of Madurai, located 212 kms north of Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu State. The ferry
was to be equipped with a Roll-on-Roll-of (Ro-Ro) deck and would carry buses and trucks, in
addition to private cars.
(b) Colombo to Cochin Ferry Service
An alternative proposal was discussed between the national governments of India and Sri
Lanka for the establishment of a ferry service between Colombo and the Port of Cochin in
Karnataka State of India. The distance involved is 310 nautical miles, or 574 kms.
To Cochin
29
3 PROFILE OF GATEWAYS
3.1 Airports – Description of Airport Sector and Policies
3.1.1 Bandaranaike International Airport (Colombo)
Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) is located along the coastal zone facing the Indian
Ocean, 32 km north from the centre of Colombo City. BIA is operational for 24 hours each
day and is managed by the state-owned Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Ltd.
(AASL). The technical details of the BIA are given in Table 17:
Table 17: Outline of Existing Airport Facilities
Item Description Airport Reference Point Long. 0790 53’ 07” E, Lat. 070 10’ 49” N
Elevation 9 m above sea level
Aerodrome Reference Temperature
32.3 0C
Operating Hours 24 hours a day all year
Administered by Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Ltd.
Runway
- Length - Pavement - Runway strip
3,350 m x 45m with 7.5m shoulders Asphalt concrete + PFC surface 3,470 m x 300 m; PCN 85/F/B/X/T
Taxiways
- Number - Configuration - Dimensions - Pavement - Strength
5 nos. exit taxiways. Parallel (200 m between centre-lines) 30 m x 3,350 m with 7.5 m shoulders Asphalt concrete PCN 85/F/B/X/T
Aprons
- Number - Configuration - Area - Pavement - Strength
5 nos., 1 domestic and 1 maintenance 3 nos. passenger; 1 no. passenger and cargo and 1 no. maintenance aprons. 168,500 m sq m. Cement concrete PCN 70 to 55/R/B/X/T
Passenger Terminal Building
Passenger Terminal
Ground floor area: 34,184 sq m First floor area: 23,788 sq m Parking area for 25 aircraft served by buses
Pier
10 air bridges with 8 gate lounges; total floor area: 17,700 sq m.
Cargo Terminal Building
UL Terminal #1 Total floor area: 12,610 sq m
Export Terminal Total floor area: 2,040 sq m
Cargo Village #1 Total floor area: 5,700 sq m
Cargo Village #2 Total floor area: 2,817 sq m.
Cargo Village #3 Total floor area: 5,100 sq m
UL Terminal #2 Total floor area: 10,800 sq m.
Vehicle Parks
3 Nos. 15,176 sq m: Capacity 57 coaches and 672 other vehicles.
Fire Fighting
Rescue & Fire
Category 9
30
Item Description Aircraft
Maintenance Hanger
Total 6 units: Sri Lankan hangers
Air Navigation System
Radio Navigation & Telecommunication
PSR- L band, ILS CAT-I: (LLZ, GP/DME , OM&MM); MMSR, TRDPS, VHF A/G; AFTN; DVCSS
Aeronautical Ground Lights
PALS -CAT-II, PAPI
Metrological Observation
AWOS, Windsock, Anemometer
(Source: Airports & Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka)
3.2 Seaports – Description of Port Industry
3.2.1 Port of Colombo
The Port of Colombo is the country’s principal port and is on the West coast of the island at
latitude 60-57’N and longitude 79-51’E. It is a man-made harbour enclosed between the north
side of the Fort and Mutwal point, with three breakwaters that were developed from 1875 to
1912:
i) South West Breakwater 1248 metres;
ii) North West Breakwater 550 metres; and
iii) North East breakwater 305 metres.
At the end of the Second World War, the Port was developed with alongside berths to adapt
to the new change of handling cargo. A Container Terminal was built to handle the
containerization of seafreight by extending the Queen Elizabeth Quay with the addition of
four container berths at the JCT and three more at the SAGT between the years 1969 to 1980.
The harbour area is 225 hectares in extent at low water and the land extent within the port is
103 hectares.
Vessels can enter through two entrances - the west entrance is the main entrance with a single
ship access of 230m wide and 15m deep and the North entrance is 185m wide and with a
depth of 13m. The harbour basin is dredged to a depth of 15 m with a turning circle of 450 m
and a stopping distance of 1000 m.
3.2.1.1 Terminals, Berths, Quays & Other Facilities
The port has several terminals and quays that are summarized as follows:
31
Berth Total Length (m)
Alongside Draught (m)
Jaya Container Terminal 1,290+350 12.00-15 South Asia Gateway Terminal 940 15.00 Unity Container Terminal 390 7.5-11.00 Multi-Purpose berth (Unity) 200 7.5-11.00 Passenger Terminal 200 9.50 Bandaranayike Quay 920 7.20-9.45 Coaster Berths 185 4.8-6.10 Prince Vijaya Quay 330 9.15-9.45 Guide Pier 330 8.00-9.15 South Pier 160 9.15
a) Jaya Container Terminal (JCT)
Jaya Container Terminal has four container berths with a quay wall length of 1292m and two
feeder berths, one in the south of length 180m and 172m length in the north.
The alongside lengths, the breadth and the depths of the four container berths are as follows:
i) JCT1 300m x 350m x 12m;
ii) JCT2 332m x 350m x 13m;
iii) JCT3 330m x 350m x 15m; and
iv) JCT4 330m x 350m x 15m.
The other facilities available at JCT are:
• 4 container Berths + 02 Feeder Berths;
• 1.292 meters of Main Quay Wall + 350 meters of Feeder Berths Quay Wall;
• 12 to 15 meters of dredged depth;
• 14 quayside Container Cranes (Panamx and Super Post Panamax);
• 39 Container Transfer Cranes (RTG);
• 4 Rail Mounted Empty Stacking Cranes (RMG);
• 45.5 hectares of Container Terminal Area;
• 44,120 TEU Dry Container Stacking Capacity; and
• 1,548 TEU Reefer Container Stacking Capacity.
JCT has repair facilities to maintain the container and transfer cranes on a 24 hour basis.
Workshop facilities are also available to repair prime movers and trailers. Electrical
maintenance is handled separately by the electrical workshop. The Stacking Capacity of the
JCT is summarized as follows:
32
Type No. of Slots Stacking Height Capacity (TEU)
Dry Containers JCT1 (RTG) 1,980 One over three 7,920 JCT 2 (RTG) 2,184 One over three 8,736 JCT 3 (RTG) 2,376 One over four 11,880 JCT 4 (RTG) 1,560 One over five 7,800 Empty Stacks (RMG) 814 One over seven 6,512 Top Lifter 318 One over three 1,272 Total Container Capacity 9,232 44,120 Reefer Containers
JCT1 72 One over one 144 JCT 2 72 One over one 144 JCT 3 108 One over two 324 JCT 4 213 One over two 936 564 1,548
b) South Asia Gateway Terminals (SAGT)
The SLPA has leased the Queen Elizabeth Quay (QEQ) to terminal operator SAGT for 30
years on a BOT basis. The quay has been widened 100m on piles eastwards into the harbour
basin to accommodate a passenger berth of 250m and three container berths, having a total
length of 1005m. They have 15m depth alongside.
The container berths have 9 Super Post Panamax container cranes and terminal with 27
transfer cranes. The total container terminal area is 22.2 hectares giving a dry container
stacking capacity of 26,250 TEUs and a reefer stacking capacity of 900 TEUs.
c) Unity Container Terminal (UCT)
The terminal is located on the south quay of the New North pier. There are two berths, the
length, width and depth are as follows:
i) South Quay Berth1 130m x 100m x 9m; and
ii) South Quay Berth 2 210m x 100m x11m,
The North Quay of the pier has a berth which has the following dimensions:
(i) North Quay Berth 200m x 25m x 11m.
There are also pipelines to the Mahaveli Marine cement silos adjacent to the pier. The pier
has a total area of 3.9 hectares and 3.2 hectares of land with five high container storage
capacities. Summary of facilities available at the UCT are given as follows:
33
Unity Container Terminal (UCT) 2 Container Berths; 1 Multi Purpose Berth; 9.0 m – 11.0 m Dredged Depth; 3 Nos. of Quayside Container Cranes; 8 Nos. of RTG; 50 Units of Prime Movers; 590 meters of Quay Wall; 1.53 hectares of Container Terminal Area; 8,000 TEU Stacking Capacity; and Inter-Terminal Road Link with JCT & SAGT.
d) Bandaranaike Quay
The Bandaranaike quay has five berths for break bulk cargo. They are east quay, west quay,
north quay and two coast berths. The respective lengths and depths are as follows:
i) East Quay Berth 422m x 9.45 m;
ii) West Quay Berth 412m x10.06m;
iii) North Quay Berth 130m x10.97m;
iv) Coast Berth 1 100m x 8m; and
v) Coast Berth 2 85m x 6m
e) Feeder Berth
This berth is adjacent to the JCT, recently constructed to accommodate vessels of
10,000DWT. This is a concrete piled structure trapezoidal in shape with a length of 193m,
57m at the land end, 16m at the sea end with a depth of 10m. The total area is 6,788 sq m.
f) Prince Vijaya Quay
This quay located to the South of UCT is used mainly to discharge bulk cement to the
Mahaveli Marine and Samudra cement silos and also maize in bulk to the grain elevator silos.
Break bulk cargo and general cargo are also handled in this quay.
3.2.1.2 Other Facilities
i) The Sri Lanka Navy has a land area of 1.021 hectares with mooring facilities for
their Fast Attack Crafts and Gunships;
ii) The Oil Jetty is located in the North West (island) Breakwater. The Jetty is 90m
in length with a depth of 11m. There are submarine pipe lines with 24” line for
crude oil and 12” line for bunkering from jetty to shore. Fuel is supplied to
vessels berthed inside the harbour and outside by barge owned by Lanka
Martime Services;
34
iii) Guide pier of length 330m has two berths alongside with depths of 8m and
9.5m. It is also used by the Colombo Dockyard Ltd to move vessels to the dry
docks for maintenance and heavy repairs situated at the East end. When not in
use for docking activities it is used by the SLPA for handling break bulk,
general cargo and car carriers. Edible oils are loaded from this pier by pipelines
from ship to shore and vice versa to the storage tank farm situated within the
port premises; and
iv) The Colombo Dock Yard Ltd undertakes heavy repairs of vessels up to 125,000
DWT and boat building activities at 4 dry docks and 11 repair berths in a 9
hectare block of land north of the Jaya Container Terminal.
3.2.2 Port of Galle
The port of Galle is located in the Galle bay at latitude 60 01’ N and longitude 82 12’. It is
the only operational port in the South of the country and is 120km by road from the port of
Colombo on the South west Coast of the country. The entry and exit from the bay is difficult
due to under water rocks and reefs creating rough swells during the south-west monsoon
season.
The Galle port existed as the only port in the island until 1890s, when activities were
transferred to the Colombo port. Export cargoes such as tea, rubber and copra (traditional
plantation crops) and imports of rice and sugar were handled in the Galle port up to 1930s
from the jetties located near the Dutch Fort. The present port was constructed in 1971 by
bridging the Closenburg Bay with Gibbot Island to form the main breakwater behind which
the land was reclaimed for the construction of a quay and warehouses. A fishery harbour was
constructed on the Northern side of the breakwater.
The quay wall is of 420m length starting from the root of the breakwater. The width of the
entrance to the harbour is 152m. From the western end there is a shallow water quay of 60 m
meant for smaller crafts, the remaining length having a depth of 9m. In the north-east part of
the harbour is a jetty of length 160 m and a wharf of 86 m dredged to a depth of 9 m. The
longer berth could accommodate 8,000DWT vessels.
Two warehouses meant for food cargoes have capacities of 2,000 sq m and 4,000 sq m
respectively. The land behind the two warehouses is leased to two cement companies for
bagging bulk cement imported by bulk carriers. There are pipelines connected directly to
silos of the cement packing plants.
The main users of the port at present are the two cement companies Holcim Lanka Ltd and
Ambuja Cement Ltd. The former imports clinker and gypsum in bulk and process them to
cement bags and the second company imports cement in bulk for bagging.
35
3.2.3 Port of Trincomalee
The Port of Trincomalee has an Inner Harbour and an Outer Harbour located in the east of the
country. The Outer Harbour comprises of Trincomalee Bay, which has the approaches to the
harbour, and the Koddiyar Bay. The Inner harbour is on latitude 80:31’ N and longitude
81:15’E. The water area is 2,023 hectares and the land area is 5,261 hectares.
Trincomalee harbour was a British Naval Base taken over by the Sri Lankan Government in
1956. The Harbour is surrounded by high cliffs on the sea side and is well protected from the
monsoon winds. The waters of the harbour can accommodate a large number of vessels and
has a water depth that permits movement and berthing of small, medium and large deep
drafted cargo ships, oil tankers and super tankers.
The infrastructure within the harbour includes roads and railway facilities. The SLPA is in
administrative control, except for the naval base in Ostenberg Ridge. The China Bay is
occupied by the Army and there is an Airforce Base.
36
4 RELEVANT CONFIRMED SECTOR DEVELOPMENTS
4.1 Aviation
The BIA has been developed in stages. The first significant development effort was between
1984 and 1988 as the Phase I Development of the Masterplan formulated in 1981, and the
passenger terminal building was constructed under the financial assistance of Overseas
Economic Cooperation Fund (OECF) of Japan. Due to certain constraints especially in the
passenger terminal buildings and that the initial cargo forecasts were exceeded by the year
1995, the Government of Sri Lanka in 1999 intended to implement Phase II Development
based on the Masterplan with financial assistance under the 32nd Yen Loan package (???). As
a result, the development has been earmarked into 2 stages (Stage 1 and 2). Stage 1 which
consists of improvements to the passenger terminals, addition of cargo terminal space,
rehabilitation of runways and the construction of a passenger pier and air bridges has just
been concluded.
Presently, a feasibility study is being carried out funded by the OECF for Stage 2 of the Phase
II Masterplan. This study envisages the development of BIA with a second runway, as well as
expansion of the passenger terminals.
Table 18 of this report summarizes the estimated timing of overflowing capacity of each
facility of the existing airport in the light of target years of demand forecasts as given in the
Feasibility Study Report for Phase II (Stage 2) development.
Table 18: Estimated Capacity Requirements of Existing Facilities up to 2025
Facility Remarks
Runway
Capacity will be sufficient up to 2025.
Taxiway Rapid Exit will be required in the year 2025.
Apron The capacity will be sufficient up to 2010.
Passenger Terminal Building Capacity will cope with the demand up to 2010.
Airline Cargo Building Capacity will be sufficient the demand up t 2015.
Forwarder Cargo Building Capacity will be sufficient the demand up to 2015.
Access Road Capacity would not sufficient, if the security situation improved and thus the demand increased.
Car Park Capacity is overflowed at peak hours.
Rescue & Fire Fighting Aerodrome category meets the requirements.
Aviation Fuel Supply Storage capacity of depot meets the demand up to 2010.
Power Supply Main power house and ring mains will be sufficient up to 2015.
Water Supply Capacity is insufficient.
Sewage Disposal Total capacity meets the demand up to 2015.
Solid Waste Disposal New incinerator will be installed by ongoing project.
Telephone Services Capacity will be sufficient up to 2020.
37
The facilities that will be inadequate within the next 5 years, e.g. by around 2010, are
identified as the passenger terminal (building and apron), car parks, air navigation systems
and utilities (i.e., power, water, sewage).
4.2 Maritime
Sri Lanka is a major transhipment hub for the region. It has a natural advantage due to its
geographical location and historically seafarers have been calling on the port of Colombo for
hundreds of years. Traditional exports such as tea, rubber and coconut were the reason in the
early years but later the island became known for its rich spices such as cinnamon,
cardamom, pepper, cloves etc. which further boosted traffic. The Portuguese, the Dutch and
the British rule of then Ceylon was another reason for the hive of maritime activity.
The SLPA has Business Plans, and feasibility studies have been executed on the Port Sector
from time-to-time. In particular, the request by the Government of Sri Lanka to the ADB to
formulate a Port Sector Master Plan was an important one and was concluded successfully in
February 2004. This study outlined expansion plans for the coming ten years.
Sri Lanka as a whole is considered in this ADB-assisted study with respect to the future
demand for break bulk and dry bulk cargoes. Population sizes and economic activities both
present and future in the provinces of the country have been taken into account. The regional
development plans in the pipeline, such as the expansion of the southern part of the country
with major Highways planned for construction that could offer alternative modes of freight
transport, have been analysed. A blueprint for expansion of the Eastern province for
accelerated growth in the region was also a factor that has been considered.
Seven study Ports have been targeted. In addition to the three ports of Colombo, Galle and
Trincomalee referred to earlier in section 3.2, Hambantota in the Southern province,
Kankesanthurai and Point Pedro in the Northern Province and Oluvil in the Eastern province
were looked at, although some of them not in any serious depth due to the prevailing security
considerations.
A summary of the recommendations by the consultants with respect to the projects, the new
facilities to be implemented is given in Table 19.
38
Table 19: Identified Port Development Projects
Project New Main Facility
1. Colombo South Harbour 16m Quay, 12 Terminals
2. Galle Regional Port 2 Multi Purpose Berths (12m)
3. Bandaranaike Feeder Berth 2 Feeder berths (10m)4
4. Kankesanthurai Port Rehabilitation Wreck removal & Rehabilitation
5. Point Pedro Regional Port A Jetty with two Berths (7.5m)
6. Trincomalee Expansion 1 Multi Purpose Berth (13m)
7. Oluvil Regional Port ( Stage I) 1 Multi Purpose Berth (8m)
8. Hambantota Industrial Port Seasonal Jetty for Coal Unloading
(Source: Sri Lanka Ports Authority & consultants reports)
These have been recommended for implementation over a time period of ten years. It is
forecast that the container demand at the Colombo Port is likely to exceed the total capacity
of the existing terminal by the year 2010. If the Phase I facilities of the Colombo South
Harbour project are to be operational by 2010, then the construction works must be
commenced by 2006 at the latest. Improvements in the current levels of productivity will
have to be enhanced, as well renovations of existing facilities have been recommended by the
study team.
a) Colombo South Harbour Project
There are two scenarios for the future projections of the container traffic in Colombo. 3.5
million TEUs in 2009, 4.8 million in 2012 and 22.7 million in 2040 are reported if there are
major reforms in policy, high level of productivity and if security considerations are fully
addressed. An alternative scenario of lower level of economic growth, productivity
constraints and lack of adequate port reforms would result in only 2.6million TEUs in 2009,
3.5million in 2012 and 13.4 million in 2040. The report also says that the existing capacity of
Colombo port could be enhanced to a maximum of 3.6million TEUs, though other analyses
estimate the ultimate capacity at 3.3 million TEUs with a Berth Occupancy Ratio of 55%.
The development of the Colombo South Harbour is to be in two stages for the Phase I of its
plan. The first stage is for the development of its basic infrastructure for the construction of
breakwaters, construction of the channel access to the port, facilities for inland transport, and
the procurement of harbour craft with public funds. The stage two of the development is for
terminal construction, inner port channel construction, turning and port basin construction,
the procurement of the terminal equipment and the remaining infrastructure, all to be
undertaken by either the SLPA or terminal operators.
4 Since, December 2005, plans for the Bandaranaike Feeder Berthts are being revised along with revised pans
for the Hambantota Port, however these plans are not finalised as yet.
39
The proposed CSH will be located west of the present south-west breakwater in an area of
approximately 600 hectares. It will have twelve berths and a harbour basin area of 290
hectares. Vessels of overall length of 400 m, beam of 55 m and draft of 16 m could be
accommodated. There will also be 4 container terminals with a quay length of 1,200m each to
accommodate 3 berths with an 18 m draft. The channel width of the harbour is to be 560 m
and a depth of 20 m with a harbour basin with a 600 m turning circle with a 18m depth. The
ADB provided a US$ 10 m loan for consultancy services under the ‘Colombo Port Efficiency
Improvement’ Project and the feasibility study including designs are now completed.
b) Galle Regional Port
The Galle Port is to be established as a cost effective transportation means for the Southern
Region by serving as an important entry and exit point. Two multipurpose berths with a water
depth of 12m are proposed to contribute to the industrial activities in the hinterland. This is
also in view of accommodating cruise vessels to cater for regional tourism in the future.
Funding for the development of the Port of Galle, based on the JICA Masterplan, was
pursued by the SLPA during the year 2004. The proposed harbour would consist of a 1150 m
breakwater, 220 m revetments and 2 berths each of 240 m in length and with a draft of 12 m.
c) Kankesanthurai Port Rehabilitation and Point Pedro Regional Port
These are two ports in the North of the island. Ethnic conflict has been experienced for more
that twenty years now. These two ports are essentially to minimize the transportation costs of
necessities to be consumed in the north. Rehabilitation of the KKS Port and the development
of the PPD are proposed do enable these ports to be designated regional ports. A Dutch
consortium, on the recommendation from the Netherlands embassy, has commenced a
feasibility study of the KKS harbour. This study funded by a grant from the Netherlands will
cover the areas of sunken vessels, dredging of the harbour and breakwater and pier repairs.
This works has been expedited after the Tsunami damage. At PPD port the existing jetty has
a draft of only 2 m and is poorly constructed and major repairs are needed.
d) Trincomalee Expansion
The study team recommended that an expansion programme of the Trincomalee Port should
begin around 2010 when peace prevails in the North and East. Significant demand for
reconstruction is expected in the region. The Ashraff Jetty at the Trincomalee port is
earmarked for expansion together with the waterfront land used along the Trincomalee Bay.
e) Oluvil Regional Port
Oluvil port is planned as a phased development and stage I construction works are to be
commenced immediately according to the study team’s recommendations.
40
f) Hambantota Seaport
A consultancy service had been commission to investigate the potential development of the
Hambantota seaport for bunkering facilities. It is proposed to develop a Single Point Buoy
Mooring System in mid sea approximately 2 km from the shore line at approximately 25 m
water depth. Underground and under-ocean pipelines would transfer the products to and from
the tankers in the ocean. Sites have been located for the of shore storage facilities. However,
since of December 2005, there are plans to upgrade the port to an Service/Industrial Port with
a 1.8 km breakwater and 12m draft. The estimated cost is now US$ 125 million.
The total estimated expenditure for all the identified projects given in Table 19 initially
estimated as Rs. 95 billion to be shared as a Public and Private sector investment. The time
line for completion of all the projects is by end 2012.
In addition to these projects the SLPA expects the following actions to be performed in the
logistics management system:
• Introduction of MCC Cargo in to all other warehouses that are vacant;
• Provision of more facilities for MCC and bonding cargo operations;
• Introducing electronic E-commerce systems;
• LCL de-stuffing would be done within 36 hours;
• Further reduction in documentation and procedures; and
• Customer-oriented total solutions for deliveries.
4.3 Rail
The Sri Lanka Railways has identified several rehabilitation projects on its network. Most of
such projects include track upgrades to enable operation of trains at average speeds of 80 kms
per hour. From a regional perspective, the most important railway project that has been
initiated is the construction of an express railway link between BIA (international airport) and
Colombo City- a distance of 32 kms. The feasibility for this project has yet to be carried out.
The Government has entered into a MoU with the Chinese Government to obtain
concessionary funding for this project.
4.4 Road
The RDA has been engaged in the implementation of several foreign-funded projects
covering new construction of major highways, rehabilitation of roads and taking measures to
reduce road congestion. The Southern Highway project is presently in progress at an
estimated cost of US$ 290 million funded separately by the Asian Development Bank (ADB)
41
and Japanese Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC). The construction work of the ADB
funded (southern) section of the Southern Highway commenced in early 2003 and is expected
to be completed by late 2006. The JBIC funded (northern) section is scheduled to be
commended in 2005.
The proposed Colombo – Katunayake Expressway project, which is to connect the
International Airport (BIA) with the City of Colombo, has yet to formally commence and its
funding is planned as a Public Private Partnership (PPP).
The Colombo Outer Circular Highway with an estimated project cost of around US$ 160
million is at the stage of completing the survey mapping. The Colombo – Kandy Expressway
is expected to be implemented on a BOT basis with the assistance of the Malaysian
Government at an estimated cost of US$ 290 million.
The implementation of these new limited access highways will improve mobility between
provincial centres in Sri Lanka. This network of new highways would be the base for a future
connection to the proposed Asian Highway Network.
4.5 Ferry Transport
Even though there has been interest shown by the private sector to resume two ferry services
between Sri Lanka and India. Both governments recently (2004) indicated their approval in
principle to a re-launching of this service, but concerns by the government of Tamil Nadu
State about security matters have so far prevented its re-commencement.
42
5 ISSUES/CONSTRAINTS TO INTRA-REGIONAL TRANSPORT
In addition to the identification of the issues/constraints to intra-regional transport
connectivity, suggestions of possible ways to resolve these where appropriate have been
included.
5.1 Aviation
5.1.1 Infrastructure
The facility requirements as identified by the Feasibility Study for Phase II, for the design
requirements of year 2020 are summarized in Table 20.
Table 20: Summary of Infrastructure Requirements at BIA for year 2020
Facility Unit Additional Requirement
Remarks
Passenger Terminal Building
• Departure Passenger Processing Area m2 27,177 Including new pier building
• Arrival Passenger Processing Area m2 14,716
• Baggage Handling Area m2 9,300
Sub-Total m2 51,193
Cargo Terminal Medium Case
Cargo Terminal Building m2 12,423
Forwarder Cargo Building m2 20,384
Sub-Total m2 32,807
Apron Stand 12
Car Park lots 920
Air Navigational Facility ls - ILS, VOR/DME, PSR/SSR, etc. Fire Fighting and Rescue Services ls - Category will be 10 in 2008
Aviation Fuel Supply System kl/day 1,752
Utility Facility
• Power Supply System kVA 9,852
• Water Supply System kl/day 3,352
• Sewage Treatment System kl/day 947
• Telephone System lines 1,440
(Source: Airports & Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka)
5.1.2 Services
Capacities of the existing facilities are given below in Table 21. The additional requirements
as estimated by the Feasibility Study for Phase II for the year 2025 are given in Table 22.
43
Table 21: Capacity of Existing Passenger and Baggage Handling Facilities
Facilities Number or Size Capacity Departure Passenger Processing Area Security Check-In 03 nos. 818 pax/hr
Check in Desks 40 nos. 991 pax/hr
Check in queuing area 1,207 sq. m. 4,389 pax Departure Passport Control 12 Counters 1,090 pax/hr
Security Check- Bus Gate 03 nos. 1,090 pax/hr
Security Check- Pier 06 nos. 2,000 pax/hr
Bus Gate Lounge 6 Rooms 1,320 pax
Air Gate Lounge 8 Nos. n/a
Arrival Passenger Processing Area Arrival Passport Queuing Area 366 sq m 1,464 pax Arrival Passport Control Desks 16 nos. 1,380 nos.
Baggage Claim Area 2,148 sq m
Baggage Claim Devices 4 nos. 5 flights
Arrival Customs Channels 23 nos.
Arrival Concourse Waiting Area 684 sq m. 829 pax
(Source: Airports & Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka )
Table 22: Summary of Facility Requirements for Passenger Terminal (2025)
Item Requirements for
2005
Departure Passenger Processing Area
Departure Curb 112 m
Departure Hall 2,048 m2
Security Check Units before Check-in 6 units
Check-in Counter - 3 islands 54 counters
Check-in Lobby 1,609 m2
Departure Passenger Passport Control Counters 22 counters
Departure Waiting Area (Departure Lobby) 2,213 m2
Executive Lounge 1,370 m2
Security Check Units at Pier‒ Centralized 6 units
Departure Airside Concourse 3,050 m2
Gate Lounge 2,843 m2
Bus Lounge 788 m2
Fixed Bridge 5,400 m2
Arrival Passenger Processing Area
Arrival Airside Concourse 3,050 m2
Arrival Bus Station Hall 188 m2
Arrival Passenger Passport Control Counters 22 counters
Baggage Claim 6 devices
Arrival Customs Counters 14 counters
Arrival Hall 2,292 m2
Arrivals Curb 112 M
44
Item Requirements for 2005
Baggage Handling Area
Departure Baggage Make-up Area (Ground Floor) 2,858 m2
Arrival Baggage Breakdown/Sorting Area (Ground Floor) 1,730 m2
In-line Hold Baggage Screening Area (Basement Floor) 4,712 m2
(Source: Airports & Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka; Consultants Reports)
5.1.3 Qualitative Responses
This section covers the responses given by leading professionals, the industry and officials of
the aviation sector, a summary of which is given in Table A9 & A10. Accordingly, the
aviation industry sees no major constraint with respect to the airport infrastructure as such.
However, a number of other aspects were highlighted as constraints and these are discussed
in the paragraphs below.
High Ground Handling Charges: As the exclusive rights for ground handling have been
given to the national carrier, the high level of their ground handling charges are considered to
be discouraging other carriers from calling at BIA. While this is to the commercial advantage
of the particular carrier, this monopolistic situation may be constraining the overall growth of
passenger traffic arriving at BIA, and therefore the progress of connectivity to other SAARC
countries. However, the monopolistic situation which has been given to Sri Lankan Airlines
is to be terminated from 31st March 2008. Thereafter, the Government will be in a position to
create another ground handler in order to provide a competitive environment and consequent
reduction in ground handling charges.
Ground Access to BIA: The fact that BIA is 32 kms from the commercial centre of Colombo
and not in close proximity to any centre of tourist attraction has not enabled BIA to develop
to its full potential as a transit point. The difficulty in ground access to Colombo city by road
and the absence of a reliable and comfortable railway connection considered a major
drawback. Moreover, the slow road network even to reach other places of tourist interest,
such as Kandy or Anuradhapura or Sigiriya, is also a problem in relation to attracting transit
passengers with stopover packages. This is seen an impediment for passengers especially
from the Maldives, southern India and Bangladesh. However in this situation too, initiatives
taken by the Government in planning for the Colombo-Katunayake highway as well as the
express train link augurs well.
Low Cost Carriers: Given that the per capita incomes of the vast majority of people in most
SAARC countries is well below that which enables air travel, it is considered most
advantageous to introduce low-cost airlines in the SAARC region to tap in to this vast
market. It is held that such an initiative would result in a phenomenal increase in air travel
within the SAARC region. The Government has already taken some initiatives in this regard
45
with the Civil Aviation Authority having granted provisional license for 3 local operators to
to commence operations to Indian destinations for a pre determined period in order to
evaluate their performance. These operators come under the category of low cost operation
and is expected to enhance capacity as well as reduce costs even further to Indian
destinations. .
Full-fledged Open Skies policy for Passenger Travel: Presently, most passenger air services
within SAARC countries are operated under bilateral agreements. With the exception of
Maldives, all other bilateral agreements with Sri Lanka stipulate traffic restrictions to other
destinations by restricting 5th freedom of traffic rights. This hinders the commercial viability
that could sustain the development of air services between points in SAARC countries that
may have lower traffic loads at present. For example, Sri Lankan Airlines would like to
operate to Kathmandu via New Delhi, while Nepal stipulates flights only through Kolkota,
which is considered to be uneconomic for the any of the designated carriers of Sri Lanka.
Similar problems exist for services to Dhaka for which there is a bilateral agreement, but no
direct flights are operating at present.
Liberalization of Air Services: Another persistent problem in the region has been identified as
the protection offered to State-Owned airlines, especially when it is the foremost designated
airline of a country. The consequent need and opportunity to monopolize a given market does
not permit other smaller carriers to enter and offer lower cost service. This is considered a
major impediment for developing air routes connecting Sri Lanka to other SAARC
destination to its true potential. This is well-illustrated by the rapid growth of air travel with
India since 2001 that has topped 45% p.a., when carriers other than the two state owned
airlines were designated as national carriers. The fares on most routes have reduced, while
frequencies have tripled and destinations have doubled from 5 to 10.
5.2 Maritime
5.2.1 Infrastructure
The present capacity could be enhanced by taking positive measures to introduce new
equipment, expansion of yard areas, denser stacking and reduced dwell time. Whilst
operational enhancements can be made to the existing terminals, the area of water in the
existing harbour is limited and it is difficult and dangerous to manoeuvre more than one ship
at a time in the basin. The capacity of the existing harbour is governed by marine operations
that limit movements by cargo vessels to about one per hour rather than the quay cranes or
yard capacity. As a result the study team has computed that the practical capacity of the
existing harbour is estimated to be 3.3 million TEUs per year. Therefore a new outer harbour
will be required if congestion and delays are to be avoided.
46
Table 23: Existing and Potential Enhanced Capacity of Existing Terminals (TEUs)
Terminal Present Capacity
Potential Enhanced Capacity
JCT 2,000,000 2,400,000 SAGT 1,000,000 1,200,000
UCT 300,000 300,000
BQ N/A 200,000
Total 3,300,000 4,100,000
(Source: Sri Lanka Ports Authority)
5.2.2 Services
Although it is acknowledged that major policy reforms are necessary in the port sector,
specific action is being taken even though at a slower rate for practical reasons. It is the
opinion of the study team that there is room for proactive reforms. The SLPA had identified
the efficiency improvements necessary as a high priority. The targets set to be achieved
earlier are as follow5s:
• Increase gross crane productivity up to 30 moves per hour;
• Increase berth productivity by 10%;
• Reduce ship turnaround time by 10%;
• 24 hour x 7 x 12 operations;
• Reduce non-operational time by 2 hrs per day;
• Implement new Terminal Management System; and
• Paperless transactions through workflow IT systems.
The study team is of the opinion that the current productivity is a serious issue when
compared with global terminal standards and best practice and thus it is necessary to
formulate a human resource development strategy.
5.2.3 Industry Responses
Industry experts were quick to highlight that there are serious constraints that need to be
addressed almost immediately. These constraints were indicated as follows:
a) The demand will outpace capacity by the year 2008. Terminals and equipment need
to be upgraded;
5 With the change in administration, there targets may have been differently prioritized. Precise positions are not
know at time of writing.
47
b) The immediate need for expansion of JCT and UCT without channel congestion.
‘Without channel congestion’ was emphasized;
d) Post panamax vessels have a 15m draft and thus dredging by an additional meter is
an immediate requirement; and
e) Unless the Colombo South Harbour development project is launched as soon as
possible, the 5th generation vessels with their greater lengths and draft can not be
handled.
According to sector experts and industry representatives, there are also many high level
administrative issues that need to be addressed:
a) Policy reforms are necessary;
b) Lack of consistency in relation to development policy;
c) Frequent changes in top management due to changes of Government;
d) This leads to no continuity in implementation of plans;
e) Even though downsizing of labour was initiated with 4000 compensated to retire
once again haphazard recruitment has recommenced:
f) Colombo Port has to be transformed into a Mega Hub-port though this is considered
easier said than done; and
g) SLPA is operating as stand-alone organisation and should link with Multi Port
Service Delivery leaders.
These issues need to be addressed at the highest levels, but no serious efforts have yet been
made to kick start development due to an absence of a ‘champion’. Nobody has taken the
necessary ‘ownership’, as the Executive and the legislature are preoccupied with other
pressing problems. Lack of funding is a major issue because it is often tied to conditions by
the donors for reform and demanding transparency.
5.3 Ferry Transport
The bilateral agreement that was in place before the suspension of the ferry services between
Sri Lanka and India has not been resumed. There is a need for renewal of such an agreement
in the interests of passenger travel.
5.3.1 Infrastructure
Some pre-feasibility studies that have been carried out in the last few years indicate that a
new ferry crossing along with the necessary infrastructure, such as quays and buildings,
would be necessary to accommodate modern ro-ro passenger vessels. A detailed feasibility
48
study would need to be carried out to ensure that such a ferry could operate year round,
unlike the earlier ferry that operated only part of the year due to the monsoon.
5.3.2 Services
The initial studies indicate that an investment of around US$ 10 million would be required to
commence such a service and that ship operating costs would be around US $1.1 million.
5.4 Land Transport
As discussed in earlier sections, there exists a need for a land bridge between Sri Lanka and
India so that the road and railway networks in Sri Lanka can be connected to the Asian
Highway and the Trans Asian Railways. While a ferry service could partially fulfil this, with
the increasing trade and cultural ties the need for a land bridge would be a necessity in the
near future.
49
6 TRAFFIC FORECASTS
6.1 Aviation
6.1.1 Passenger – Overall National
As mentioned earlier, there is only one international airport in Sri Lanka the Bandaranaike
International Airport (BIA) at Katunayake. Air Traffic at BIA has steadily increased with an
average annual growth rates of 7.9 % for international passengers since 1990. The demand
for Sri Lankans travelling abroad has been 7.2% per annum, while tourist arrivals have been
growing at a slower rate of 4.7% p.a. In particular, the growth rate for 2003 and 2004 is
remarkably high with both tourist and local travel showing high growth. The passenger traffic
records at BIA since 1990 are shown in the Table 24. This also indicates the growth in transit
passengers at 26% per annum during the last six years.
Table 24: Historic Air Passenger & Aircraft Traffic at Bandaranaike International
Airport (1990-2004)
(Source: Airports & Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka)
The tourist arrivals from SAARC countries are given in Table 25. This shows that the growth
in travel to/from all SAARC countries except that of Pakistan has grown at a steady rate.
Travel to India shows a phenomenal 34.8% growth over a five year period, presumably
because of the expansion in new destinations.
Year Sri
Lankan Tourists Transit
Total Passengers
Annual Growth
Aircraft Movements
Annual Growth
1990 875,935 595,776 1,471,711 - 17,864 -
1991 886,066 635,406 1,521,472 3.4% 18,110 1.4%
1992 1,009,995 787,338 1,797,333 18.1% 19,772 9.2%
1993 1,109,319 784,500 1,893,819 5.4% 20,481 3.6%
1994 1,341,115 815,022 2,156,137 13.9% 20,960 2.3%
1995 1,428,760 806,202 2,234,962 3.7% 19,495 -7.0%
1996 1,544,048 604,530 2,148,578 -3.9% 20,722 6.3%
1997 1,586,942 732,330 2,319,272 7.9% 22,568 8.9%
1998 1,438,542 762,126 156,168 2,356,836 1.6% 24,055 6.6%
1999 1,542,132 872,880 233,768 2,648,780 12.3% 27,140 12.8%
2000 1,737,019 800,828 342,540 2,880,387 8.7% 32,123 18.4%
2001 1,624,794 673,588 329,661 2,628,043 -8.8% 26,363 -17.9%
2002 1,718,881 786,342 260,941 2,766,164 5.3% 25,276 -4.1%
2003 1,854,913 1,001,284 376,565 3,232,762 16.9% 27,937 10.5%
2004 2,330,092 1,132,404 607,225 4,069,721 25.9% 35,161 25.9%
Average Growth
7.2% 4.7% 25.4% 7.9% 5.49%
50
Table 25: Tourist Arrivals from SAARC Countries (2000-2004)
Origin No of Tourist Arrivals per year
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 Growth % p.a.
Bangladesh 1,218 1,745 1,521 1,830 1,953 12.5%
India 31,860 33,924 69,960 90,603 105,151 34.8%
Maldives 7,935 9,019 9,861 11,583 15,463 18.2%
Nepal 534 508 789 980 1,004 17.1%
Pakistan 10,005 8,562 6,756 9,704 9,638 -0.04%
Bhutan n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
(Source: Airports & Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka)
Growth of air traffic demand is in general correlated to the growth of the aggregate economy.
For travel pertaining to Sri Lankans travelling abroad, as well as business travel, this is
particularly true. However, for tourism and other leisure related travel other factors such as
security has had an impact in the travel. This was widely seen in the mid 1980s followed by
the terrorist attacks in 1996 in Colombo and also the 2000 attack at the BIA.
The following combinations of explanatory variables have been used for forecasting in the
Feasibility Study for the BIA Development Project- Phase II (SAPROF Team, OECF Team,
November 1998). They have used combinations of variables such as:
• Sri Lanka GDP;
• Foreign Countries GDP; and
• Terrorism Index.
The model with the best fit is given as follows:
Y = exp (-2.694157) * X1 1.442112
* X2 0.019790
* X3 -0.046059
Where, Y is the total passengers for the year, X1 is the GDP of Sri Lanka in constant Rs
million, X2 is the aggregated average growth rate weighed by foreign countries GDP (1985 =
1.0) and X3 is the Index of Terrorism, adjusted by the method of ‘centring repeated 3 term
moving average.’
The final forecast results made in this study in 1998 are given in Table 26. However, when
comparing the actual figures for the year 2003, it is observed that only the low projection was
reached. The primary reason for this has been the set back due to the terrorist attack on the
BIA in the year 2000 and the subsequent pulling out of several carriers.
51
Table 26: Forecast Results of Total Passenger Movements at BIA (2003-2013)
1997 2003 2008 2013 High
2,319,272
3,994,527 (9.5%)
6,036,959 (8.6%)
9,139,613 (8.7%)
Medium 3,662,885 (7.9%)
5,160,607 (7.1%)
7,288,952 (7.2%)
Low 3,220,640 (5.6%)
4,129,285 (5.1%)
5,090,607 (4.3%)
(Source:Consultants Estimate for BIA Phase II Development)
The current feasibility study for the Phase II development to the BIA carried out by Japan
Airports Consultants has revised the estimates using anew set of forecast models. The
feasibility is in preparation stage and has yet to be published. The tentative estimates given in
that report under preparation are given in Table 27. These estimates are significantly higher
than the 1998 forecasts due to the GDP growth rate assumption of between 1.7% and 5.8%
being revised upwards from 4.5% to 7.0%. The higher trends experienced in the 2003 to 2005
period have also influenced these revised estimates.
Table 27: Total Passenger Demand (2006-2025)
Actual Forecast Low Medium High
2004 4,069,721
2006
4,728,699 4,755,357 4,761,939
7.9% 8.1% 8.3%
2007
5,102,266 5,140,541 5,178,840
7.9% 8.1% 8.3%
2008
5,505,345 5,556,925 5,608,684
7.9% 8.1% 8.3%
2009
5,940,267 6,007,036 6,074,205
7.9% 8.1% 8.3%
2010
6,409,548 6,493,606 6,578,364
7.9% 8.1% 8.3%
2015 8,775,405 9,185,271 9,612,258
6.5% 7.2% 7.9%
2020 11,861,757 12,829,042 13,870,301
6.2% 6.9% 7.6%
2025 16,038,022 17,924,371 20,022,764
6.2% 6.9% 7.6%
Source : Japan Airport Consultants
6.1.2 Cargo – Overall National
The movement of cargo over the last 15 years too has grown at 10.28% per annum as shown
in Table 28. The growth pattern of the cargo movements appears slightly different to that of
52
the trend as for passenger traffic, except in the year 2001, when a large number of air carriers
pulled out of BIA following the attack by terrorists.
The following combinations of explanatory variables have been used for forecasting in the
Feasibility Study for the BIA Development Project - Phase II (SAPROF Team, OECF Team,
November 1998). They have used combinations of variables such as:
• Sri Lanka GDP
• Foreign Countries GDP
• Terrorism Index
The model with the best fit is given as follows:
Y = exp (-2.694157) * X1 1.442112 * X2
0.019790 * X3 -0.046059
Where, Y is the total passengers for the year, X1 is the GDP of Sri Lanka in constant Rs
million, X2 is the aggregated average growth rate weighed by foreign countries GDP (1985 =
1.0) and X3 is the Index of Terrorism, adjusted by the method of ‘centring repeated 3 term
moving average’
Table 28: Historic Air Cargo at Bandaranaike International Airport (1990-2004)
Year Cargo (tons) Annual Growth
1990 39,830 -
1991 44,600 12.0%
1992 50,092 12.3%
1993 56,927 13.6%
1994 70,171 23.3%
1995 77,639 10.6%
1996 85,719 10.4%
1997 97,436 13.7%
1998 94,364 -3.2%
1999 103,865 10.1%
2000 128,312 23.5%
2001 101,547 -20.9%
2002 112,274 10.6%
2003 125,665 11.9%
2004 145,674 15.9%
Average Growth p.a. 10.28%
(Source: Airports & Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka)
The final forecast results made in this study in 1998 are given in Table 29. However, when
comparing the actual figures for the year 2003, it is observed that only the low projection is
53
reached. The primary reason for this has been the set back due to the terrorist attack on the
BIA in the year 2000 and the subsequent pulling out of several carriers.
Accordingly the estimates made are given in Table 29. However, the actual figures for the
year 2003 are much below even the low forecast. This too is attributed to the effect on flights
after the attack in 2000. As shown in the table above, except for this year all other years have
shown a steady growth averaging 10-12% p.a. This model also has been now revised in the
Feasibility Study for Phase II by Japan Airport Consultants. The new forecasts are given in
Table 30.
Table 29: Forecast Results of Total Cargo Movements at BIA (2003-2013)
1997 2003 2008 2013 High
96,134 214,651 (14.3%)
399,175 (13.2%)
699,045 (11.9%)
Medium 190,520 (12.1%)
320,369 (11.0%)
506,991 (9.6%)
Low 159,675 (8.8%)
232,212 (7.8%)
320,207 (6.6%)
(Source: Consultants Estimates, lopment, BIA DevPhase II)
Table 30: Total Cargo Demand (2004 to 2025)
Actual Forecast
Low Medium High 2004 145,674
2006 180,480 182,356 182,898 11.3% 11.6% 12.0%
200874 202,962 204,810 2007 11.3% 11.6% 12.0%
223572 226,506 229,240 2008 11.3% 11.6% 12.0%
248,836 252,780 256,583 2009 11.3% 11.6% 12.0%
2010 276,955 282,103 287,322 11.3% 11.6% 12.0%
2015 431,719 460,469 490,983 9.3% 10.3% 11.3%
2020 660,669 737,946 823,832 8.9% 9.9% 10.9%
2025 1,011,074 1,182,687 1,382,407 8.9% 9.9% 10.9%
(Source: Japan Airport Consultants)
6.1.3 General Observations
However, a quick investigation of the recent growth in air traffic particular with India shows
that growth spurs can be induced by other parameters, such as deregulation and open skies
policies, more so that economic growth and terrorism that are the two basic components of
the above forecasting models. As such, regional cooperation and steps to increase more travel
54
within the SAARC region as elaborated in Section 5.1.3 would see a much greater growth
rate. Moreover, other developments such a developing transit attraction are also factors that
could change these predictions favourably.
6.2 Maritime
6.2.1 Overall Growth in Maritime Traffic
There are no empirical formulae or established rules to project overall growth in container
traffic. Industry experts study the Economic Indicators of the respective countries in the
region over a period of time to forecast economic growth and factor in any constraints
applicable due to special considerations prevailing at that time. This is then translated into the
growth in container traffic. In computing the container traffic, an optimistic, a pessimistic and
a mid point figures are arrived at.
India is on an accelerated growth surpassing the predictions at a national level and is fast
becoming a services hub for IT services etc. Foreign currency earnings from this sector and
revenue growth contribute to the national budget. The central government has a number of
development plans for implementation of their ports, in addition to the Sethu Samudram
project. Sri Lanka could benefit from this development provided that it gears itself to be the
Gateway to the Indian Subcontinent.
The Sethu Samudram Project is presently under design and planning stages and its final
position is not known. However, initial inquiries reveal that its depth would not allow the
navigation of large vessels and the status quo of the Port of Colombo with respect to the other
ports in the region would be largely unaffected. An increase of feeder shipping could in fact
strengthen the position of the Port of Colombo as a hub.
6.2.2 Growth in Container Sector
The two tables below show the projections of container traffic by the Consultants who have
undertaken a study of the Port of Colombo. One is the domestic container traffic growth,
whilst the other is the Colombo’s share of the ISC transhipment market.
Table 31: Forecast of Domestic Container Traffic for Port of Colombo
Year 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
2010 2015 2020
TEUs (000)
661 727 792 864 941 1026
1,118 1,643 2,414
(Source: Sri Lanka Ports Authority)
55
Table 32: Forecast of Transhipment of Container Traffic to the Indian Sub Continent
Year 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2015 India Bangaladesh Pakistan
6,658
7,390
8,203
9,106
10,107
11,219
17,263
Transhipment % Via
Colombo Singapore
Salalah etc.
39% 37% 35% 33% 34% 35% 33%
TEUs ( 000)
2,597
2,734
2,871
3,005
3,436
3,927
5,696
(Source: Consultants Estimates)
6.3 Ferry Transport
No forecasts have been done. However, some projections could be based on the trends up to
that year, suitably adjusted for capacity available in air travel. The success of a ferry service
would be its ability to carry passengers at costs much lower than airlines and perhaps the
possibility of carriage of personal vehicles.
56
7 NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES AND SCHEDULING
7.1 Aviation
There has been discussion for a long period of time regarding the construction of a 2nd
international airport in Sri Lanka. Even though Chennai and Male are the nominated
alternative airports for BIA, there is an ICAO requirement for a 2nd international airport
within the country. More importantly, every flight destined to the BIA has to carry fuel to
reach either of these destinations in the event of an inability to use BIA.
While a number of different locations have been studied over the years, the area identified for
this purpose is in the southern part of Sri Lanka on the basis that it has a different weather
pattern to that at the BIA. An initial location in Kuda Oya was investigated in 2004, but a
new location further towards the coast in the vicinity of Weerawila is being also investigated
at the present. This is expected to attract charter flights to begin with, as it is closer to the
popular tourist areas in the south.
Preliminary estimates have forecasted that 5% of the total national passenger traffic could be
diverted to a 2nd airport within 15 years of commencement of operations. However, the on-
going development of BIA to meet the entire national demand even up to 2025 may result in
a delayed start to a 2nd new international airport.
There are however different opinions in this regard. One point of view is that since a second
airport will take a considerable time to develop in to commercial viability, BIA itself could be
further developed with the addition of a second runway northwards of the existing runway or
southwards into the land presently occupied by the industrial zone. This option would result
in lower fuel carrying requirements as stipulated by ICAO for airports having more than one
runway.
7.2 Maritime
Successive governments have expressed their desire to develop the Colombo port to be well
ahead of other ports in the region to handle container traffic. Aggressive implementable
development plans are necessary to meet the advancements in containerized cargo handling,
coupled with three major challenges:
a) to address the capacity constraints;
b) the impact of the development of Mega-Carriers; and
c) to compete with the rapid development of the major Indian ports.
57
Feasibility studies, investigations and proposals have been considered from time to time in
recent years. A Master Plan for development of all the Ports in Sri Lanka is also available
with recommendations by a study team.
The Development Projects identified by the SLPA are as follows:
• Colombo South Port Development
Facility Improvements of JCT;
Extension of JCT4;
JCT 1 & 2 deepening;
Replacement and addition of container cranes;
Enhancement of yard capacity;
Improvement of Cross Berth North;
Dredging of the basin to 15 meters;
Upgrading of the main channel;
Enhancement of JCT infrastructure;
Superstructure to accommodate larger container vessels; and
Terminal monitoring and control IT system.
• Galle Harbour Development
Harbour development;
Yacht marina;
Ship repair facilities;
2 Multi purpose berths;
Outer breakwater 800m;
Inner breakwater 350m;
Berth for small craft 170m, 4.5m draft;
Buildings and roads; and
Cargo handling equipment;
• Hambantota6
Development of harbour;
Feasibility study;
Bunkering facilities;
Power Generation Plant; and
Ship repair facilities;
• Oluvil
Development of harbour; and
3m deep harbour for small craft
6 The development plan for Hambantota has been revised since time of initial writing of this report and is
awaiting formal Government approval. The regional consultants working on Phase 2 of the SRMTS are
requested to obtain the details from the Sri Lanka Ports Authority.
58
8m deep berth for general cargo
Enhancement of existing facilities
Lighthouse
Maritime Training Centre
• Point Pedro
Improve existing facilities; and
Passenger Landing
Envisaged Improvements
Port Complex & staff facilities
Deepening Alongside Berth by 8m
• Trincomalee
Improve existing facilities
Cement factory and terminal
Ship repairs
Conventional cargo terminal
Flour mill and export facility
Tanker terminal and storage facility
Ferry terminal
Fisheries harbour
Future Developments
Development of peninsula enveloping Marble Bay, Sweat Bay and Dead
Mans Cove for the Tourism sector
Development of stretch from Clapenberg to Yard Cove
Development of land 500m in width adjacent to water’s edge for
common user Port activities.
Food – Prima flour facility
Construction – Tokyo Cement
Power Generation
• Kankesanthurai
Rehabilitation of KKS Breakwater
(KKS is presently handling security cargo, repairs to be made to
enhance security of vessels inside the Port)
The time line for development was to begin the studies and consultancy activities in 2004 and
complete the identified projects by 2013. However, due to the current situation in the country
with political changes at the highest level, other security considerations and lack of adequate
funding there is distinct lack of progress and therefore timeframes are likely to be
significantly extended.
59
APPENDIX A: DATA FOR AVIATION SECTOR
SAARC REGIONAL OPERATIONS
TO/FROM
SRI LANKA
60
TABLE A1: PASSENGER FLIGHT FREQUENCY AND CAPACITY
Notes:
1. Source, Airport & Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka
2. Data given is for Scheduled flights for the week from 04th
July 2005 to 10th
July 2005.
3. The data does not include Charter Flights.
4. Average Seat Occupancy given is the mean for both directions.
5. Code of other country airports to be taken from National Report of respective countries.
SAARC Route No
Origin (Airport)
Origin Airport Code
Destin. (Airport)
Destin. Airport Code
Carrier (Airline Code)
Flights per Week
Type of Aircraft
Average Seat Occupancy Level %
IS101 Delhi DEL Colombo SO11 UL 7 + 7 A320 66.6%
MS101 Male MLE Colombo SO11 UL 5 + 5 A340 52.1%
MS101 Male MLE Colombo SO11 UL 10 + 10 A320 42%
MS101 Dubai / Male DXB/MLE Colombo SO11 EK 6 A330 68.7%
MS101 Narita / Male MLE Colombo SO11 UL 2 A340 66.5%
MS101 London / Male MLE Colombo SO11 UL 2 A340 90.8%
MS101 KL / Male MLE Colombo SO11 MAS 1 A330 46.1%
IS102 Mumbai BOM Colombo SO11 UL 4 + 4 A320 65.2%
IS102 Karachi / Mumbai KHI/BOM Colombo SO11 UL 3 + 3 A320 95.4%
PS101 Karachi KHI Colombo SO11 PIA 2 + 2 B737 68.2%
IS103 Tiruchchirapalli TRZ Colombo SO11 UL 10 + 10 A320 82.6%
IS104 Trivandrum TRV Colombo SO11 UL 4 + 4 A340 63.7%
IS104 Trivandrum TRV Colombo SO11 UL 2 + 2 A330 76.4%
IS104 Trivandrum TRV Colombo SO11 UL 6 + 6 A320 59.6%
IS105 Cochin COC Colombo SO11 UL 11 + 11 A320 71.9%
IS106 Bangalore BLR Colombo SO11 UL 7 + 7 A320 85.8%
IS107 Calicut CCT Colombo SO11 UL 9 + 9 A320 66.9%
IS108 Chennai MAA Colombo SO11 UL 4 + 4 A340 76%
IS108 Chennai MAA Colombo SO11 UL 6 + 6 A330 73.7%
IS108 Chennai MAA Colombo SO11 UL 5 + 5 A320 83.5%
IS108 Chennai MAA Colombo SO11 IC 7 + 7 A320 68.4%
IS108 Chennai MAA Colombo SO11 JAI 7 + 7 B737 69.2%
IS108 Chennai MAA Colombo SO11 SAH 7 + 7 B737 78.2%
IS109 Hyderabad HYD Colombo SO11 UL 7 + 7 A320 63.2%
MS101 Male MLE Colombo SO11 Euro Fly 1 A330 15.3%
MS101 Male MLE Colombo SO11 EK 1 A330 59.9%
MS101 Male / Dubai MLE/DXB Colombo SO11 EK 5 A330 61.7%
MS101 Male / Vienna MLE/VIE Colombo SO11 Al 1 B763 40%
MS101 Male / Düsseldorf MLE/DUS Colombo SO11 LTU 1 A330 25.1%
MS101 Male / Munich MLE/MUC Colombo SO11 LTU 1 A330 22%
MS101 Male / Frankfurt MLE/FRA Colombo SO11 LTU 1 A330 15.2%
MS101 Male / Doha MLE/DOH Colombo SO11 QTR 1 A320 72.9%
61
TABLE A2(a): PASSENGER FLOWS (ARRIVALS IN SRI LANKA)
SAARC Route
Origin Airport
Code
Origin Airport
Destin. Airport
Code
Destin. Airport
Carrier (Airline Code)
No of Arriving Passengers per year
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
IS101 Delhi SO11 Colombo UL 25,785 23,064 28,031 35,101 41,669
IS102 Chennai SO11 Colombo UL/JAI/SAH/IC 160,790 158,425 168,488 180,091 234,266
IS103 Bombay SO11 Colombo UL 15,404 14,276 20,627 27,093 39,494
IS104 Trivandrum SO11 Colombo UL 39,921 50,676 47,819 45,541 51,265
IS105 Tiruchchirapalli SO11 Colombo UL 22,381 19,262 27,010 33,468 40,068
IS106 Bangalore SO11 Colombo UL - - 8,943 23,555 45,623
IS107 Buddagaya SO11 Colombo UL - - - 334 1,659
IS108 Cochin SO11 Colombo UL - - - 9,796 22,691
IS109 Calicut SO11 Colombo UL - - - - 10,125
IS110 Hyderabad SO11 Colombo UL - - - - 13,506
PS101 Karachi SO11 Colombo PIA/UL 23,525 15,680 n/a 7,859 18,694
MS101 Male SO11 Colombo UL/EK/LTU/QTR 111,139 99,947 76,659 106,189 128,461
Notes:
1. Source: Civil Aviation Authority, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
2. The data does not include passengers on Charter Flights.
3. Code of other country airports to be taken from National Report of respective countries.
62
TABLE A2(d): PASSENGER FLOWS (DEPARTURES FROM SRI LANKA)
SAARC Route
Origin Airport Code
Origin Airport
Destin. Airport Code
Destin. Airport
Carrier (Airline Code)
No of Departing Passengers per year
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
IS101 SO11 Colombo Delhi UL 25,611 21,160 27,933 33,269 39,751
IS102 SO11 Colombo Chennai UL/JAI/SAH/IC 171,000 159,833 170,886 174,478 224,056
IS103 SO11 Colombo Mumbai UL 16,055 14,530 20,638 26,382 35,933
IS104 SO11 Colombo Trivandrum UL 56,279 50,376 45,830 47,277 56,409
IS105 SO11 Colombo Tiruchchirapalli UL 23,782 21,807 28,543 35,106 44,357
IS106 SO11 Colombo Bangalore UL 8,865 23,752 46,739
IS107 SO11 Colombo Buddagaya UL 1,346 3,104
IS108 SO11 Colombo Cochin UL 10,912 26,524
IS109 SO11 Colombo Calicut UL 12,013
IS110 SO11 Colombo Hyderabad UL 12,524
PS101 SO11 Colombo Karachi PIA/UL 19,784 15,109 n/a 7,752 17,952
MS101 SO11 Colombo Male UL/EK/LTU/QTR 114,222 101,640 84,121 111,382 130,535
Notes: 1. Source: Civil Aviation Authority, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
2. The data does not include passengers on Charter Flights.
3. Code of other country airports to be taken from National Report of respective countries.
63
TABLE A3 (a): CARGO FLOWS (ARRIVING IN SRI LANKA) SAARC Route
Origin Airport
Code
Origin Airport
Destin. Airport
Code
Destin. Airport
Carrier (Airline Code)
Freight Tonnes Arriving per year
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
IS101 Delhi SO11 Colombo UL 741 594 685 614 1,023
IS102 Chennai SO11 Colombo UL/JAI/SAH/IC 3,067 2,147 2,324 2,464 2,656
IS103 Mumbai SO11 Colombo UL 259 346 453 555 1,007
IS104 Trivandrum SO11 Colombo UL 919 1,466 1,141 849 1,131
IS105 Tiruchchirapalli SO11 Colombo UL 0 0 0 0 1
IS106 Bangalore SO11 Colombo UL 208 256 160
IS107 Buddagaya SO11 Colombo UL 0 0
IS108 Cochin SO11 Colombo UL 80 288
IS109 Calicut SO11 Colombo UL 138
IS110 Hyderabad SO11 Colombo UL 182
PS101 Karachi SO11 Colombo PIA/UL 342 238 0 237 464
MS101 Male SO11 Colombo UL/EK/LTU/QTR 3,328 1,601 1,477 2,555 2,350
Notes:
1. Source: Civil Aviation Authority, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
2. The data does not include freight carried on Charter Flights.
3. Code of other country airports to be taken from National Report of respective countries.
64
TABLE A3 (d): CARGO FLOWS (DEPARTING FROM SRI LANKA) SAARC Route
Origin Airport Code
Origin Airport
Destin. Airport Code
Destin. Airport
Carrier (Airline Code)
No of Departing Passengers per year
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
IS101 SO11 Colombo Delhi UL 124 143 215 119 282
IS102 SO11 Colombo Chennai UL/JAI/SAH/IC 2,600 n/a 2,879 3,064 3,577
IS103 SO11 Colombo Bombay UL 48 77 77 94 216
IS104 SO11 Colombo Trivandrum UL 283 472 581 470 1,158
IS105 SO11 Colombo Tiruchchirapalli UL 78 52 55 48 37
IS106 SO11 Colombo Bangalore UL 321 399
IS107 SO11 Colombo Buddagaya UL 0
IS108 SO11 Colombo Cochin UL 36 60
IS109 SO11 Colombo Calicut UL 21
IS110 SO11 Colombo Hyderabad UL 76
PS101 SO11 Colombo Karachi PIA/UL 2,610 1,024 631 1,452 1,935
MS101 SO11 Colombo Male UL/EK/LTU/QTR 9,235 6,232 2,872 5,360 6,625
Notes:
1. Source: Civil Aviation Authority, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
2. The data does not include freight carried on Charter Flights.
3. Code of other country airports to be taken from National Report of respective countries.
65
TABLE A4: PASSENGER RATE DATA
SAARC Route
Origin Airport
Code
Origin Destin. Airport
Code
Destin. Airport
Distance (kms)
Standard Economy
Ticket Return ($)
Standard Business
Ticket Return ($)
SI101 S101 Colombo DEL Delhi 2,444 394 995
SI102 S101 Colombo MAA Chennai 668 151 301
SI103 S101 Colombo BOM Mumbai 1,530 310 641 SI104 S101 Colombo TRV Trivandrum 360 126 202
SI105 S101 Colombo TRZ Tiruchchirapalli 440 139 221
SI106 S101 Colombo BLR Bangalore 806 174 394
SI107 S101 Colombo GAY Buddagaya SI108 S101 Colombo COK Cochin 502 156 297
SI109 S101 Colombo CCJ Calicut 630 312 473
SI110 S101 Colombo HYD Hyderabad 1,160 228 493
SP101 S101 Colombo KHI Karachi 2,403 240 577
SM101 S101 Colombo MLE Male 829 174 221
Notes:
1. Source: Travel Agents, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
2. Fare is as at 10th
October 2004 of direct flight operated by UL.
3. Code of other country airports to be taken from National Report of respective countries.
4. There are no flights to GAY operating at time of inquiry
66
Table A5: Cargo Rate Data on scheduled passenger aircraft
SAARC Route
Origin Airport Code
Origin Destin. Airport Code
Destin. Airport
Freight Minimum $
Rate for 100 kgs ($ per kg)
Excess Baggage charge ($ per kg)
SI101 S101 Colombo DEL Delhi 12.44 1.07 5.20
SI102 S101 Colombo MAA Chennai 12.44 0.36 1.67
SI103 S101 Colombo BOM Mumbai 12.44 0.74 3.34
SI104 S101 Colombo TRV Trivandrum 12.44 0.28 1.07
SI105 S101 Colombo TRZ Tiruchchirapalli 12.44 0.31 1.17
SI106 S101 Colombo BLR Bangalore 12.44 0.56 2.16
SI107 S101 Colombo GAY Buddagaya 7.50 ** 5.20
SI108 S101 Colombo COK Cochin 12.44 0.48 1.57
SI109 S101 Colombo CCJ Calicut 12.44 0.37 2.55
SI110 S101 Colombo HYD Hyderabad 12.44 0.55 2.74
SP101 S101 Colombo KHI Karachi 12.44 1.02 3.63
SM101 S101 Colombo MLE Male 12.08 0.44 1.47
Notes:
1. Source, Sri Lankan Airlines
2. All cargo rates are excluding fuel and security surcharge.
3. Fuel & security surcharge will not apply for minimum freight
4. As the rate is not published to GAY, the cost from DEL/GAY will be added.
67
TABLE A6: PASSENGER DATA AT INTERNATIONAL AIRPORTS Airport Code Airport No of
international Passenger Terminals
Annual Capacity of
each Terminal
Passengers per year
No of international passengers per year
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
S101 Colombo CMB 01
6 Million Inwards 1,422,348 1,279,429 1,364,809 1,602,470 2,018,742
Outwards 1,458,039 1,348,614 1,401,355 1,630,292 2,050,979
Transit 342,540 239,661 260,941 334,013 607,225
Notes:
1. Source: Airports Authority of Sri Lanka.
TABLE A7: CARGO DATA AT INTERNATIONAL AIRPORTS
Airport
Code Airport No of International Cargo
Terminals Capacity of
each Terminal
Sq meters of each cargo
terminal building
Tonnage Throughput per year
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
S101 Colombo CMB
UL Terminal 1
250,000
12,610 Loaded 78,300
Unloaded 50,012
Total
128,312
Loaded 62,102
Unloaded 39,445
Total
101,547
Loaded 70,150
Unloaded 42,124
Total
112,274
Loaded 76,540
Unloaded 49,125
Total
125,665
Loaded 93,145
Unloaded 52,529
Total
145,674
UL Terminal 2 10,800
Cargo Village Terminal 1 5,700
Cargo Village Terminal 2 2,817
Cargo Village Terminal 3 5,100
Export Terminal 2,040
Notes:
1. Source: Airports Authority of Sri Lanka.
68
TABLE A8: RUNWAY CAPACITY DATA OF INTERNATIONAL AIRPORTS
Airport Code
Airport No and size of Active
Runways Nos/metres
Category of
Runway
Landings and takeoffs in peak
hour per runway
Landings and Takeoffs per annum (including domestic)
I/II/III 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 S101 Colombo
CMB 01 / 3350 m I Landings 12
Take Offs 13 32,123 26,363 25,276 27,937 35,161
Notes:
1. Source: Airports Authority of Sri Lanka.
69
TABLE A9: PASSENGER TRAFFIC QUALITATIVE DATA FEEDBACK Question Report
1. What is the projected annual growth in passengers through all national airports up to 2010?
7.9% - low case, 8.1% - medium case, 8.3% - High case
2. Are such growth forecasts available on an airport by airport basis? If so what are the forecasts for each of the study airports
Low case = 6,410,000 ; Medium case = 6,494,000; High Case = 6,578,000
3. Do you expect an increase in intra-regional services and if so from where to where?
Yes. India, Pakistan & Dacca
4. What is the main focus of air services and airport strategy/policy up to 2010?
Airport – Provide adequate capacity to international standards and enhance safety and security of airport operations.
5. What additional intra-regional routes do you intend to open or increase the frequency of existing flights and when?
Dhaka -2008 Kolkota – 2008 Karachi 2007
Ahmedabad – 2007 Trichy 2006
6. Which intra-regional routes are reaching capacity levels? Will you increase the size of the plane or flight frequency
• Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Karachi
• All Indian cities need to be served by bigger aircraft to increase capacity.
• Preference for Karachi would be to increase frequency through negotiations with Pakistani Government
7. What are the major causes of intra-regional flight delays? • Internal Security, Immigration, baggage delivery, lLack of terminal space during peak times
8. Are there regular operational problems with the intra-regional flights – availability of flight corridors, runway slots, or terminal gates in peak hours? What is the proposed solution?
• No capacity problems with regard to flight corridors and runway slots.
• Governments should be encouraged to increase investment in Airport terminal space.
• Internal security procedures should be streamlined and unnecessary procedures eliminated.
9. What are the plans for airport/terminal development to 2010? • The capacity constraints with regard to terminal gates during peak hours will not be present after November 2005.
• Terminal development for a capacity of 6 million passenger movements per annum is scheduled for completion by October 2006. The elements of the project other than the public concourses and expansion of the check-in area has been completed.
10. What is the average inward and outward processing time for inward intra-regional passengers? What is the main cause of delays, immigration/customs/other?
• Within 40-45 minutes for inwards and outwards passengers.
• Immigration, lack of terminal space for check-in counters and departure gates, inadequate number of baggage delivery belts.
• The number of airline check-in counters will be increased by 35% and the project in progress is scheduled for completion by October 2006.
11. Is the security screening capacity compatible with demand? • Airport-Yes
• Airlines –No
12. What are the major complaints in relation to intra-regional services?
• Increased reporting time.
• Pilferage of baggage.
• Lack of customer service on board.
• Fewer frequencies between destinations.
• Inconvenient departure/arrival times.
Notes: 1. Sources: Professionals in the Aviation Sector.
70
TABLE A10: CARGO TRAFFIC QUALITATIVE DATA FEEDBACK
Question Report 1) Are the international cargo terminals sufficient for future demand? Short Term – Yes Medium to Long Term - No.
2) Is there a program to increase cargo facilities? • Yes. Sri Lankan is planning to add additional terminal capacity in Katunayake.
3) Is there sufficient underbelly space to meet cargo demands? • It is just adequate. But increase competition could improve competitive pricing for cargo space.
4) Are there any intra-regional freighter services, excluding express carriers? If so what is the frequency and where to they come from or go?
• Yes. All are operated by Sri Lankan Airlines.
• Frequencies per week: Chennai x2, Trivandrum x1, Coimbatore x 1, Bangalore x 1, Delhi x 1
5) What is the average import dwell time in the international cargo terminal? (days)
• Maximum 24 hours (1 day) on a normal situation subject to formalities.
6) Where is there a shortage of capacity for movement of air cargo intra-regionally?
• To/From Indian airports
7) What are the main cargo constraints in relation to intra-regional traffic • Pricing perceived at being too high
8) What are the current levels of custom examination (% of consignments examined)? Is there a green channel system for freight in operation?
• No Green Channel system. Consignments inspected randomly
9) What is the major problem with the international air cargo terminals • The Sri Lankan Cargo terminal has the required equipment/skills and staff to mange the Hub operations efficiently. Expansion is planned in 2006. Protecting from rain during transportation to/from aircrafts is a challenge. Measures as polythene covers/covered trolleys are measures currently in place.
Notes:
1. Sources: Professionals in the Aviation Sector.
71
APPENDIX B: DATA FOR MARITIME SECTOR SAARC REGIONAL OPERATIONS
TO/FROM SRI LANKA
72
CONTAINER SERVICES (Intra-regional services or linkages only)
TABLE C1: SERVICE AND CAPACITY ON OFFER SAARC Route
7
Origin Destination Carriers Distance Nautical Miles
Service Frequency per month (both directions)
TEU capacity on offer per sailing
Colombo Chennai BTL, OEL, XCL, Far Shipping, Ocean Lanka
590 18 600
Colombo Chittagong XCL, HRC, 1340 8 600
Colombo Cochin BTL, OEL, XCL, Far Shipping
307 8 900
Colombo Haldia BTL, XCL, Far Shipping
8 800
Colombo Kandla XCL, OSS, ACL 8 650
Colombo Karachi XCL, ACL, OSS 1341 8 900
Colombo Kolkota XCL, BTL, Far Shipping
1244 8 800
Colombo Male MNSL, Lily 8 200
Colombo Mongla NIL NIL NIL
Colombo Mumbai ACL 889 4 900
Colombo Port Quasim NIL NIL NIL
Colombo Tuticorin XCL, BTL, OEL, Far Shipping, IPS, ACL, SIMATECH
24 500
Colombo Vishakapatnam Far Shipping 866 4 500
Notes
1. There are several carriers too numerous to list.
2. The service frequency and capacity varies and was not available for verification
73
TABLE C2(E): TRAFFIC VOLUMES: IMPORT
SAARC Route
Origin Destination TEU per annum
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 CHITTAGONG COLOMBO 451 1227 741 1062 774
MONGLA COLOMBO 1 0 2 0 0
MUMBAI COLOMBO 9174 4228 2306 1911 1915
KOLKOTA COLOMBO 1670 981 894 879 1164
CHENNAI COLOMBO 7600 7200 9151 10773 16348
COCHIN COLOMBO 890 1246 104 1501 1509
GOA (MARMAGOA) COLOMBO 56 103 343
HALDIA COLOMBO 1686 1425 1741 2384 2681
KANDLA COLOMBO 1599 1402 1712 2556 4003
MANGALORE COLOMBO 1 8 6 26 176
MUNDRA COLOMBO 329
NHAVA SHEVA COLOMBO 15195 17852 23532 30457 33751
TUTICORIN COLOMBO 6693 10094 9829 8595 11603
VISAKHAPATNAM COLOMBO 2 0 36 64 3
PIPAVAV COLOMBO 3 46 0 3
MALE COLOMBO 1542 1768 1614 1180 1741
KARACHI COLOMBO 13243 11653 9593 10297 12817
MUHAMED BIN QASIM
COLOMBO 371
74
TABLE C2(I): TRAFFIC VOLUMES: EXPORT SAARC Route
Origin Destination TEU per annum
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 COLOMBO CHITTAGONG 3181 3194 3021 1992 5607
COLOMBO MONGLA 55 0 0 0 0
COLOMBO MUMBAI 4043 2687 1462 1698 1176
COLOMBO KOLKOTA 2633 3502 3253 4859 4074
COLOMBO CHENNAI 8500 6866 12296 12971 12957
COLOMBO COCHIN 7795 7556 8958 6915 7501
COLOMBO GOA (MARMAGOA) 74 43 44 490 603
COLOMBO HALDIA 65 1286 906 1400 1055
COLOMBO KANDLA 285 1256 869 1134 832
COLOMBO MANGALORE 147 506 758 748 484
COLOMBO MUNDRA 264
COLOMBO NHAVA SHEVA 3139 6154 14282 16061 13556
COLOMBO TUTICORIN 11876 16671 17238 15313 20489
COLOMBO VISAKHAPATNAM 0
COLOMBO PIPAVAV 0 253 0 0 0
COLOMBO PARADIP 130 694
COLOMBO MALE 939 981 1224 1222 1544
COLOMBO KARACHI 6099 5289 4951 5165 5054
COLOMBO PORT QUASIM 0 1 0 2 12
75
Table C3: Traffic Balance SAARC Route
Origin Destination Intra-regional Empty TEU shipped per annum
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
Notes
1. This information is not available
Table C4: Rates in US$
SAARC Routes
Origin Destination Average Sea freight per 20ft FCL
US$
Average Sea freight per40 ft
FCL US$
Average FOB
charges per20ft
FCL
Average FOB
charges per40ft FCL
Colombo Chennai 150 325
Colombo Chittagong 400 700
Colombo Cochin 150 350
Colombo Haldia 450 750
Colombo Kandla 350 550
Colombo Karachi 475 950
Colombo Kolkata 300 450
Colombo Male 800 1450
Colombo Mongla
Colombo Mumbai 300 500
Colombo Port Qasim 475 950
Colombo Tuticorin 90 200
Colombo Vishkapatnam 400 600
Colombo Nava Sheva 300 500
Notes:
1. The actual charges vary based on volumes of cargo, discounts being offered by freight
forwarding companies.
2. Above rates include Colombo THR
3. Rates are quoted values for export cargo on CY/CY basis
76
PORT DATA
CONTAINER TERMINALS
TABLE C5: TRAFFIC LEVELS Name of Terminal
Port TEU capacity per terminal
TEUs handled per annum
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 JCT Colombo 45,668 1,416,356 1,380,230 1,203,192 1,329,800 1,302,374
SAGT Colombo n/a 300,591 329,659 558,000 624,436 899,680
UCT Colombo 8,000 10,625 7,412 24 115 14,182
Other Quays
Colombo Nil 5,283 9,304 3,478 4,985 4,289
Galle Nil
Trincomalee Nil
Notes:
1. JCT- Jaya Container Terminal
2. SAGT South Asia Gateway Terminal
3. UCT – Unity Container Terminal
4. Annual Capacity is not computed. Given above is the capacity in TEUs.
77
TABLE C6: PERFORMANCE AND EQUIPMENT Name of Terminal
Port Average import container dwell time (days)
Average export container dwell time (days)
Ground storage slots/Height of stacks/TEU capacity
No of Container cranes & gantries
No of reachstackers/ straddlecarriers/ heavy fork trucks etc. (itemize each)
JCT Colombo n/a n/a 45,668 14 39 Nos. RTGs 4 Nos. RMGs
SAGT Colombo n/a n/a n/a 09 28 Nos. RTGs 1 Nos. Mobile
4 Nos. Reach stackers 9 Nos. Fork lifters
50 Nos. Prime Movers
UCT Colombo n/a n/a 8,000 03 8 Nos. RTGs 50 Nos..Prime Movers;
Galle - - - - No facilities for containerized cargo
operations Trincomallee - - - -
Other Quays
Colombo - - -
Notes:
1. The container dwell time is not computed and published.
2. The storage heights are not available
TABLE C7: CONNECTIVITY AND SERVICES
Name of Terminal Location Rail Connected Y/N Organizations present on terminal
QEQ Colombo Y Customs, SLPA, Sri Lanka Navy
SAGT Colombo N
JCT Colombo Y
Galle Y
Trincomallee Y
Note: 1. Railway lines are available from within the port to Inland, they are not fit for use. While Galle and
Trincomalee Ports have railway operations, Colombo has ceased for considerable time
78
TABLE C8: CONTAINER SHIPPING QUALITATIVE FEEDBACK
Question Report
1) What are your growth projections up
to 2010 on your intra-regional routes?
Average would be around 10%
13% growth in 2003-2004
2) What is the % split between 20ft and
40 ft containers for intra-regional
trade? Is it changing?
Imports are in 20s(70% in 20s)
Exports are in 40s (60% in 40s)
So an imbalance is caused
3) Do you regularly move empty
containers intra-regionally? Why?
Yes. There is a need for greater empty containers in the region.
Because of the size imbalance, there is a flow of empty containers
between SAARC countries.
4) What % of containers are cleared at
the container terminal?
For imports, 70% of removals of FCLs are sent direct to consignee
stores and LCLs are destuffed 100%.
For exports, all are considered FCLs by the port, some consolidation
takes place by shipping agents.
5) What % of containers are transferred
to a Container Freight Station for
clearance?
90% of clearance of FCLs from Port to CFSs
6) What % of intra-regional containers
is sent to ICD for clearance?
NONE
7) What changes in your intra-regional
services do you expect before 2010?
Colombo Port to become the Gateway of the Indian sub-continent.
Need to be a Mega Hub-port. Colombo South Harbour Project
implementation will increase in handling capacity.
8) What are the main port constraints? Cranes can work only 18 containers across; larger vessels are with 22
containers across. Limitation of the small basin. Inadequate depth.
Ultra Post Panamax (5th generation vessels) can not be accommodated
without the Colombo South Harbour Project.
9) What are the main container
terminal constraints?
Same as above. Capacity needs to be improved by 2008. More of
larger vessels with bigger lengths and draft have to be served.
10) What are the main inland
distribution constraints?
Serious traffic congestion on the Roads. Most Roads are not designed
for container traffic.
11) What are the main institutional
constraints?
Major Policy reforms are necessary. Ineffective Leadership and drive
resulting in lack of consistency, Frequent changes of management due
to Government changes resulting in no continuity of policy or its
implementation.
12) What are the berth occupancy
levels at the container berths?
75% - 80%
13) What is the quayside container
crane performance per hour?
20 – 25 moves per hour
14) What is the average berthing time
per vessel?
Waiting time is zero. About one hour for berthing from arrival time
79
TABLE C9: QUALITATIVE FEEDBACK ON PORTS
Question Probable Sources Report
1) What are the port/container
terminal growth projections up to
2010?
Port or Container
Terminal Operator
An average of 10%.
2) What major terminal/equipment
developments are projected before
2010?
Port or Container
Terminal Operator
Dredging of JCT1 and JCT2 by 3m. Extension of
JCT4. New cranes to replace old ones and new
cranes to handle 22 across.
3) Are the port/terminal and
Customs IT systems linked? Is
there a “community” system in
place?
Port or Container
Terminal Operator
NO. However plans are in place. Major delays
from the conception stage to implementation.
4) What are the main port/terminal
constraints?
Port or Container
Terminal Operator
Capacity constraints, Limitation in Basin size. Can
not handle large vessels.
5) Are the container terminal
dwell times increasing or
decreasing?
Port or Container
Terminal Operator
From 2001 onwards has been decreasing
6) Are the CFS dwell times
increasing or decreasing?
Port or Container
Terminal Operator
Decreasing
7) What are the main causes of the
delays that result in these dwell
times?
Port or Container
Terminal Operator
In general, the Importers are not ready with the
right documentation for clearance and fees etc.
8) Is intra-regional traffic dealt
with differently from inter-
regional traffic?
Port or Container
Terminal Operator
NO
9) Do you expect the % of
containers being
distributed/collected by rail to
increase or decrease?
Port or Container
Terminal Operator
Potential exists, however the Rail service is not
developed to handle container traffic. Existing
Railway track needs investment for straightening
curves, cranes etc.
10) What are the major
operational constraints and how
can these be resolved?
Port or Container
Terminal Operator
Major operational constraints are given above.
SLPA is lone port and needs to link with Multi Port
Service delivery capability. Speedy implementation
of the Colombo South Harbour Project is a
necessity. The need to become a Mega hub port
thus the Gateway to the ISC.
