Aitken Spence enhances efficiency at Fiji Ports
View(s):Sri Lanka’s Aitken Spence Group, specialists in shipping and port management, since taking over management control of the International Fijian ports of Suva and Lautoka in July last year has increased ship crane productivity by 70 per cent.
Aitken Spence has also reduced berthing delays from between 12 to 18 hrs to 0.50 hrs on average while equipment downtime has been reduced by 60 per cent, according to a company statement.
These substantial efficiency improvements were highlighted by Chairman/CEO of Aitken Spence Maritime, Logistics & Cargo and Director of Aitken Spence PLC, Dr Parakrama Dissanayake, in his address at the 39th Pacific Maritime Transport Alliance Conference held in the island country of Niue from 28th – 31st October 2014. The conference themed “Our Pacific shores, the waves of possibilities” was attended by 26 countries in the South Pacific including Australia and New Zealand. Marking the first ever public-private partnership by a Sri Lankan company, Aitken Spence entered into a public-private partnership with Fiji Ports Corporation acquiring 51 per cent of the shares in Ports Terminal Ltd in 2013 to oversee the repair and operation of the ports of Suva and Lautoka.
“We are confident the private-public partnership would result in the establishment of Fiji as the gateway to the Pacific,” said Dr. Dissanayake.
“We will bring in the global best practices in human resources and the processes in the system and also in thesphere of having the right machinery to having the right level of productivity,” he added.