CASA facilitates seminar on maritime hub aspirations of Sri Lanka

A seminar themed ‘maritime hub aspirations of Sri Lanka’, organised by the Ceylon Association of Ships Agents (CASA), is to be held tomorrow, at Galadari Hotel.

Following the launch of Vision 25, which outlines the government’s economic development programme, there were many thoughts and discussions on making Sri Lanka a maritime hub. Sri Lanka is in an enviable location, where the busy East-West shipping route passes just six to 10 nautical miles south of the island. 

More than 60,000 ships ply this route annually, carrying two-thirds of the world’s oil and half of all container shipments. It is no secret that Asia is bound to emerge as the economic powerhouse of the world, if the current trends of development continue for the next couple of decades. 
It is inevitable that Sri Lanka should capitalize on the location-specific advantages and position itself as a hub. Therefore, it is important to probe what constitutes a maritime hub and what are the immediate investments required to get there. 

To sift through  a myriad of ideas and thoughts, discussed and debated in recent times about what should and should not be considered  essential ingredients for a thriving maritime hub in Sri Lanka, CASA opined, it would be necessary to evaluate the fundamentals, which would be the building blocks of such a hub envisioned for Sri Lanka. The seminar is organised with this in mind.

Sri Lanka Ports Authority Chairman Dr. Parakrama Dissanayake will grace the occasion as the chief guest and keynote speaker followed by former Sri Lanka Navy Commander Admiral (Dr.) Jayanath Colombage, Freedom of Highseas (Pvt.) Ltd Chairman and Managing Director Capt. Ranjith Weerasinghe, Hambantota International Port Group CEO Ray Ren, CICT CEO and Hambantota International Port Group DGM Jack Huang as the main speakers. 

The speakers are independent thought leaders and experts in their own chosen fields and intimately connected to maritime matters. The main topics covered by these speakers are: overall road map, essentials of a maritime hub (role of ports, ancillary services and infrastructure) and Hambantota – would it play a special role?

The series of speeches will be followed by a panel discussion moderated by SLANA Chairman and CASA Past Chairman Capt. A.V. Rajendra. Along with the other speakers, SLPA MD H.D.A.S. Premachandra and CILT Sri Lanka Chairman Capt. Lasitha Cumaratunga will also join the panel discussion. 

CASA, the voice of the shipping industry, intends to launch its first quarterly magazine at this event. The magazine is named ‘Bridge’ and will consist of valuable articles and white papers written by industry experts. All participants will get a free copy of the magazine.

For registrations contact the CASA Secretariat or email your request to [email protected].