Financial Times

New lease of life for marine containers from Hayleys Advantis
While driving along a Colombo road recently an unusual building was sighted. It was a huge structure constructed out of marine containers. The occupier, an NGO, had arrived in Sri Lanka in connection with the tsunami reconstruction and had been on the lookout for suitable office accommodation with modern facilities such as air conditioning.

Security and IT connectivity to their existing network were also requirements. Above all it was needed urgently. Because the ease of IT connectivity, provision of security and other administrative necessities it was preferred the new office to be close to the existing premises but no suitable building could be found nearby. Constructing a conventional building in the existing land was out of the question because of the urgency. Therefore finding an office was indeed a tall order.

Somehow when scouting around for office space, information was received that a subsidiary of Hayleys called Logiventures was converting marine containers for use as site offices, workshops, canteens and similar purposes.
Since converted containers looked the best possible solution Logiventures was entrusted the challenge of providing this international NGO with the office space it required with all their requirements. Within four weeks the NGO was able to move in to a plush new two storied office of 1,600 sq. ft.

Huzri Farook, manager of Logiventures, said that although the standard containers are 20 feet x 8 feet or 40 feet x 8 feet, the space provided is not limited to those dimensions. Any area and design can be provided, the only limitation being the customer’ imagination and any limitations of the site.

Marine containers are weather proof and robust since they have been manufactured to withstand long journeys across seas in inclement weather conditions. Therefore they would last long with suitable maintenance.

Other than the office for the NGO, Logiventures has supplied converted containers to be used as site offices, workshops, staff rest rooms, and shops with product displays, complete with sanitary facilities, air conditioning, lighting and other amenities. They are currently working on a project to supply fully contained workshops with their own power supply for tsunami devastated fisheries harbours.

The potential therefore is almost unlimited, even to be used for housing if one so desires, particularly in remote locations where construction of conventional dwellings is difficult and time consuming. The key advantages are that they are movable and quickly deployable, Huzri concluded.

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