Sri Lanka is set to open a second gate in the country's main Colombo port for the first time in 10 years in a bid to boost shipping traffic, a top port official said on Thursday.
''We will be opening the north gate in a couple of days,'' said Sri Lanka Ports Authority Chairman Priyath B. Wickrama. The announcement follows the end of a 25-year war with insurgent group Tamil Tiger in the north.
''This will help improve our vessel turnaround time and we can accommodate more ships,'' Wickrama told Reuters.
The port handled a record 3.68 million TEUs last year. Vessels turnaround time is expected to improve by 6-7 hours because of the change.
Port officials said the north gate had been shut for 10 years due to security threats from the Tamil Tiger rebels, who were defeated in May this year.
Sri Lanka is now eyeing to become a shipping hub status in Asia, relying on its strategic location between the east and the west in the Indian Ocean.
''We will be opening the north gate in a couple of days,'' said Sri Lanka Ports Authority Chairman Priyath B. Wickrama. The announcement follows the end of a 25-year war with insurgent group Tamil Tiger in the north.
''This will help improve our vessel turnaround time and we can accommodate more ships,'' Wickrama told Reuters.
The port handled a record 3.68 million TEUs last year. Vessels turnaround time is expected to improve by 6-7 hours because of the change.
Port officials said the north gate had been shut for 10 years due to security threats from the Tamil Tiger rebels, who were defeated in May this year.
Sri Lanka is now eyeing to become a shipping hub status in Asia, relying on its strategic location between the east and the west in the Indian Ocean.