Apr.29--APL Logistics has selected Colombo, Sri Lanka as the preferred location for its new regional consolidation hub for South Asia that will be established by the second half of this year.
The announcement comes after the company signed an agreement with the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka (BOI) to allow its wholly-owned subsidiary, APL Logistics Lanka (Private) Ltd, to set up the hub within the Katunayake Export Processing Zone (EPZ).
Its subsidiary in the island nation has been granted a lease on the land and premises located in the EPZ where it will operate container freight stations, warehouses and other logistics-related businesses, a company statement said.
The immediate next stage of the plan calls for the reconstruction of the existing facility on the site into a new state-of-the-art facility to offer 100,000 square feet of bonded warehousing space, compliant with international standards for security and safety and with built-in environmentally-friendly features.
"Sri Lanka has been rapidly growing in importance as a regional sourcing base for global retail customers. The country's infrastructure development to improve the capacity and efficiency of its existing ports has been progressing at a tremendous pace," said APL Logistics president Beat Simon.
The new facility in Colombo will connect with as many as 18 container freight stations located within the logistics firm's South Asia network to provide multi-country consolidation and other value-added and pre-retail services tailored to the needs of its global and regional customer base. The company already has an extensive distribution and transportation network in the country.
(Source:shippingazette)