Colombo port revenue drops by 50%
Revenue at the Colombo port has dropped by 50 per cent as lesser containers are arriving,
Sri Lanka Port Authority (SLPA) said.
Last month had recorded a drop of 50 per cent in revenue as containers have reduced by 10 per cent though vessels have increased by 2.6 per cent, SLPA Chairman Gen. Daya Ratnayaka told the Business Times on Thursday.
This situation is likely to continue this month as well, he said adding that however, they were eyeing new opportunities as most of the large vessel operators have been requesting for space at the port.
But this opportunity is hampered since the importers have not taken out their containers from the port since they had not imposed charges from March 14 to April 13, he explained.
On Wednesday the SLPA had arrived at a decision to extend this period till April 30 with no demurrage charges but a charge of US$8 per day per container. But since some have already been charged these will be refunded based on this new decision.
Currently, “people are taking an interest to clear” their containers, Gen. Ratnayaka said adding that port capacity has reached 90 per cent under the circumstances.
In this respect, he noted should these containers be cleared it would help them to start some new business opportunities.
Per day about 1500 containers are being moved out of the port from about 26,000 being held up presently, he said.