Dr Parakrama Dissanayake , Secretary to the Ministry of Ports & Shipping and Southern Development presenting the final draft of the National Policy for Maritime and Logistics Sectors to Minister of Ports & Shipping and Southern Development Sagala Ratnayaka. Chairman of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority Kavan Ratnayaka; Managing Director of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority Captain Athula Hewawitharana; A W Seneviratne, Director General of Merchant Shipping; H D.A.S. Premachandra, Chief Executive Officer LAUGFS Terminals Ltd; K N Kumari Somarathne, Additional Secretary (Development) of the Ministry of Ports & Shipping and Southern Development; H. M. L. S. Herath, Additional Secretary (Admin and Finance) of the Ministry of Ports & Shipping and Southern Development; Shehara Jayawardana, Group Joint Managing Director of McLarens Group; Saliya Senanayake, Chairman, CASS; Romesh David, CEO of SAJT were also present.
The final draft of the National Policy for Maritime and Logistics Sectors presented to Minister of Ports and Shipping and Southern Development Sagala Ratnayaka by Ministry Secretary Dr Parakrama Dissanayake in an event held at the Ministry yesterday.
The policy was drafted by the committee comprised with leading experts on maritime affairs chaired by Dr Dissanayake, to better understand the importance of a national policy for the alignment of maritime and logistics sectors to reap the benefits towards the development of Sri Lanka. Around 80 stakeholders participated during the formulation of the policy.
While valuing and appreciating the efforts by all parties involved in drafting this comprehensive and comparative policy on maritime, a lifeline of the country, the Honorable Minister requested for feedbacks from the interested parties and the general public. He has ensured the promulgation of this national policy as quickly as possible. Minister Ratnayaka has acknowledged the governing supports of his predecessor, former Minister of Ports and Shipping Mahinda Samarasinghe, on this national initiative.
Meanwhile, in his brief introduction during the event, Dr Dissanayake has clarified the importance of this historic national policy and how it is going to elevate the developments of the maritime affairs in the country. Around 150 pages document comprehensively detailed the strategies, suggested actions and coordinating role of each party while addressing the urgent requirements of the maritime and logistics sectors in Sri Lanka. It has addressed the several areas of the subject including, Ports and Related Infrastructure; Development of Maritime Related Services; Ships, Ship Owning, Ship and Crew Management, Shipping & NVOCC Agency, Coastal Shipping ; Development of Logistics and Intermodal Infrastructure, Harmonization of Regulatory Framework ; Maritime Safety, Security, Marine Pollution Prevention, Maritime Training; Promotion of Small & Medium Scale Enterprises in Maritime and Logistics; Restrictive Practices in Maritime and Logistics.
One of the aims of this national policy is to “encourage sustainable port development to cater to long-term forecasted growth in volumes of imports and exports and transshipment trades by sea, with a competitive and efficient port industry capable of meeting the needs of importers and exporters in a cost-effective and timely manner, thus contributing to long-term economic growth and prosperity of Sri Lanka,” Dr Dissanayake said by quoting the final draft of the national policy. The vision of this national policy reads as to “become a leading Global Maritime and Logistics Hub while maintaining a premier status in regional Maritime and Logistics by affording and facilitating the best technology and convenience to all stakeholders thus facilitating the economic growth in Sri Lanka.”
Chairman of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority Kavan Ratnayaka, Managing Director of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority Captain Athula Hewawitharana, Executive Director of Sri Lanka Ports Authority Dr Emerick Fernando, Additional Managing Director of Sri Lanka Ports Authority D. Upali De Zoysa, Directors of Sri Lanka Ports Authority, several stakeholders and experts of the subject were present at the event.
0 comments: