Emirates soon to move to new home
With the announcement of the phased opening of Terminal Three (T3) from October 14, the spotlight has now turned on Emirates’ much-anticipated move to its dedicated new home in Dubai. EK843 Dubai-Doha, an Airbus A330-200, will be the first Emirates flight to be flagged off from the new terminal, the airline said this week.

The first phase of Emirates’ operations from T3 will launch all flights to the GCC and the Americas – 40 flights a day, around 15 per cent of the airline’s total services. Phase Two will include flights to the rest of the Middle East and Africa as well, increasing operations to 99 flights every day, 37 per cent of all flights. Flights to Europe will take-off in the next phase, escalating operations to 168 daily flights or 60 per cent of all Emirates’ services. The fourth and final phase will include flights to the Indian Subcontinent, East Asia and Australasia and bring the total to 269 flights every day.

SriLankan’s special arrangements for fasting passengers
SriLankan Airlines has made arrangements for the convenience of Muslim passengers during the annual Ramadan Fasting Period from September 2 to October 1.

A limited quantity of dates, fruits and other items are being carried on board SriLankan flights which will be in the air at the time of breaking the fast in the evenings, the airline said. The airline is even providing takeaway packs for passengers on Jeddah bound flights that touch down shortly before 6 pm, since they may need to break their fast while still at the airport.

The airline requested passengers to inform the airline of their special requirements at the time of booking their flight, to their Travel Agent or to the SriLankan Airlines Ticket Office.

Dialog boosts Uplink Speeds To 5.4 Mbps
Dialog Telekom this week launched its 3.75G High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) service on a trial basis where customers could experience uplink speeds of up to 5.4Mbps.

The company said the service supplements download speeds of up to 14.4 Mbps, empowering Dialog customers with mobile data speeds that are unparalleled. The enhanced upload speed will be available in selected areas, and extend to all 3G coverage areas with network upgrades over the next few months. In addition, Dialog also introduced the latest mobile broadband terminals to the Sri Lankan market, which are capable of delivering downlink speeds of up to 7.2 Mbps, the statement said.

Dialog’s 3rd Generation network provides the widest 3G coverage in Sri Lanka with a 500 base station infrastructure footprint spanning Greater Colombo, Kandy, Galle, Kurunegala, Anuradhapura, Nuwara Eliya, Monaragala, Ampara, Trincomalee, Jaffna and many other towns in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka Centre opened in Shanghai
Minister of Enterprise Development and Investment Promotion Dr. Sarath Amunugama on September 11 opened the Sri Lanka Centre in Shanghai, the Board of Investment (BOI) said.

The Centre will showcase Sri Lankan products under one roof in order to market them in eastern China as well as provide investment information of Sri Lanka to the potential investors in eastern China, the BOI said.

The centre will also provide services such as business to business meetings, explore marketing opportunities, securing orders for Sri Lankan products as well as look for Chinese investors for those who wish to seek partners or to expand their business.

It will be managed by Shing Kwan Group, a Singapore-based company which has invested in Sri Lanka in the World Trade Centre as well as Havelock City development.

Kumaratunga at 18th Polish Economic Forum
Former President Chandrika Kumaratunga was invited to attend the 18th Economic Forum in Poland, as a special guest, her office said. The 3-day conference began on September 10 in Krynica – a southern city sometimes nicknamed “Davos of Eastern Europe” after the more famous world Economic Summit held there every year.

Organized by the Institute for Eastern Studies Foundation since 1991, the Forum in Poland has evolved as the most significant meeting place for the political and economical elite of Central and Eastern Europe, .

BOI, Cairn India sign oil investment deal
The Board of Investment (BOI) and Cairn Lanka (Private) Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cairn India, on Thursday signed an agreement for a commitment of an initial investment of more than US$110 million towards the exploration of hydrocarbons
“The programme of work will be in the Block SL 2007-01-001 which is offshore North West Sri Lanka and covers approximately 3,000 square Kilometres (km2 ) in water depths of 200 metres to 1800 metres in the Mannar basin,” acccording to a press release by Cairns Lanka.
The signing for the exploration licence to explore for oil and natural gas in the Mannar Basin took place, earlier in July this year, in Colombo with the Minister for Petroleum and Petroleum Development Resources A.H.M Fowzie and Indrajit Banerjee, Executive Director of Cairn India.

The Knowledge Conglomerate unveils Blue Oceans, Green Fields
With the strategic intent of venturing into the unchartered blue oceans and green fields of knowledge-based businesses, The Knowledge Conglomerate has unveiled their corporate brand identity, the company said this week.

Formally unveiling the blue-green logo and the corporate theme of ‘Blue Oceans, Green Fields’ the Chief Strategist of The Knowledge Conglomerate Hilmy Cader said in a media statement, that, “We are offering our prospective Entrepreneurs, Investors and Business Partners the opportunity to take an early mover position in a multitude of fast growing, knowledge-based ventures we plan to enter.”

The Knowledge Conglomerate, an idea conceptualized, developed and spun off by MTI Consulting, is to be launched in Sri Lanka with the strategic intent of building a multitude of knowledge-based businesses in Sri Lanka, that will provide an entrepreneurial opportunity for young Sri Lankan professionals to start a new knowledge-based business. It will also provide Sri Lankan corporates and high networth individuals an investment opportunity in the fast growing knowledge based businesses, with the mid to long-term prospects of targeting the international markets.