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Saturday Apr 20, 2024
Thursday, 19 December 2013 00:45 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Lanka branch (IQASL) was held on Wednesday 11 December at the Kingsbury. Dialog Axiata emerged as the winners of the Terminal Operators’ Cup 2013 while the Lalith Athulathmudali Memorial Shield was presented to the first runner-up Seylan Bank - A team. Peoples Bank were adjudged as the second runner-up.
The Terminal Operators’ Cup 2013 was launched to symbolise a new era in maritime, aviation and logistic industry in Sri Lanka and is a part of SAC’s academic calendar. This year’s quiz also marks the opening of the South Port of Colombo and the new infrastructure which is built to support the international trading environment of Sri Lanka to make it a strategic hub.
Bridge the links
In his welcome address SAC CEO Rohan Masakorala stated; “The TOC aims to bridge the links of the value chain and the supply chain of the public sector and the terminal operators. Capacity building has been my passion and within the last four years I have been working with many organisations in various sectors to develop the necessary skill levels among our employees.”
Colombo Dockyard Managing Director and CEO Mangala Yapa the Guest of Honour for the evening sharing his thought on the event stated that through improving the maritime infrastructure we are able to transform Sri Lanka to reach the SLPA vision 2020. “In the coming years transport and logistics are the key areas that will witness a rapid transformation and people like us will be redundant. We will need young people like you with a different skill set and competence to operate technologically advanced instruments. Today you got to know more about Malcom McLean the father of containerisation. McLean’s concept adopted the mechanisation which increased the speed of loading and unloading cargo. This occurred in the 1970s likewise I believe with the technological developments in future the shipping industry will reach a different level. Things have changed dramatically since the time I joined the shipping industry. In future the ships will be different in size and will be complex in their design and structure. SAC’s academic programs and these quizzes may be a small stack in the process, but it is heading towards the right direction in improving the skills of the future generation.”
Dedication and imagination
Speaking at the ceremony SLPA Chairman Dr. Priyath B. Wickrama stated that the development projects carried out in Colombo terminals and the Hambantota port was conducted under the guidance of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. “I acted on the requests and vision of His Excellency the President and carried out the tasks which were laid ahead. Though there are rumours spreading about my position at the SLPA I would like to say that once all these projects are completed I would like to resign from my post at the ports authority and continue with my academic life. One advice for the young generation from me is that you need to have dedication and imagination to succeed in life. Imagination being the most important aspect of it, you need to test and try things using your imagination before implementing things in life. Sri Lanka as a country has taken giant steps toward the development of maritime promotion through international trade and logistics. I earnestly hope that this quiz will be a pillar to uplift the standards and act as a linking ground for the value chain and supply chain in the public as well as private sector.
