ECONOMYNEXT- Sri Lanka is having talks with some of the world’s biggest logistics firms like Germany’s DB Schenker and Switzerland’s Kuehne & Nagel to try to get them to invest in the island, a senior port official said.
Kavan Ratnayake, chairman of Sri Lanka Ports Authority, said logistics was a key part of the newly developed national ports master plan which will help attract investors, needed to expand and modernise the sector.
Minister of Ports & Shipping Sagala Ratnayake held talks with top European-based global logistics firms during a visit to Germany this week.
“The Minister was in Munich with representatives from 26 logistics companies. He’s talking to world-class companies like DB Schenker and Kuehne & Nagel to try to get them to invest here,” Ratnayake said.
Germany’s DB Schenker, the transport and logistics division of the Deutsche Bahn Group, already has a partnership with Aitken Spence group through which it is represented in Sri Lanka and the Maldive Islands.
Swiss freight-forwarding group Kuehne & Nagel International, whose sea freight is the largest part of the business, has offices in Colombo and Katunayake, where the international airport is located.
Sri Lanka is trying to attract global logistics firms to set up headquarters and operations in the island which has newly developed port and airport infrastructure that remains underutilised.
(COLOMBO, 07 June 2019)