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Sri Lanka aims to create an Asian shipping hub capable of competing with Singapore and Dubai by pouring US$3.4 billion into expanding ports with Chinese help, after the island container volumes surged to a record, reported Sunday Observer (Sri Lanka).
President Mahinda Rajapaksa has a goal of capitalising on the end of a 26-year civil war to build a trade gateway to emerging markets, and port revenue may almost triple to US$656 million in 2015 from 2010, it has been estimated.
The government forecasts rising cargo levels will enable transportation, including ports, to make up 40 per cent of gross domestic product by 2020, a fourfold gain from last year.
Economic growth reached a 32-year high of eight per cent in 2010 amid Chinese investment in roads and harbours.
President Rajapaksa is seeking to take advantage of Sri Lanka's position – 31 kilometres off India's southern coast. There lie the main shipping lanes linking the Far East, West Asia, Africa and Europe.
Deeper berths, new terminals and increased efficiency in the capital, Colombo, and in southern Hambantota city will allow bigger, super post-Panamax ships to dock and transfer cargo more quickly to and from smaller vessels that carry goods for India and other emerging markets.
The government is seeking to close the gap with Singapore, the top container port in 2009, and Dubai, which ranked seventh, according to data from London-based Cargo Systems.
Cargonews Asia
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