(from left) Commissioner Western Commander Joeli Cawaki, of Ports Terminal Limited, Aitken Spencer Marine Limited chairman and Aitken Spencer PLC director Parakrama Dissanayake, the Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama and Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum after the Private-Public partnership agreement signing at the Prime Minister’s office yesterday. Photo: RONALD KUMAR.
By ROSI DOVIVERATA
A Sri Lankan conglomerate, Aitken Spence PLC, has taken over the management of Ports Terminal Limited, a 100 per cent owned subsidiary of Fiji Ports Corporation Limited.
A Private Public Partnership agreement signed yesterday saw the purchase of 51 per cent shares, worth $10.53 million, by Aitken Spence into Ports Terminal Limited.
The move is to bring about efficiency and productivity in both the Suva and Lautoka wharves.
The removal of special levies charged by international shipping firms on voyages to Fiji is an immediate challenge Aitken Spence will be taking on. The levies were imposed because of constant port delays here.
Aitken Spence is Sri Lanka’s largest logistics operator including a track record of superior performance and pioneering services covering logistic operations from container handling, cargo, courier and supply chain management.
Marine Limited Chairman
Aitken Spence PLC Director, Parakrama Dissangayake said that they will be bringing world class global best practices into the ports sector of Fiji which will increase the efficiency and the productivity of the ports.
“By doing that we can boost traffic and we hope that the surcharge that’s been applied on exports and imports will gradually move away. This will boost economic activity in Fiji as well.
“We will also be helping the government in establishing Fiji as the maritime hub of the South Pacific,” he said.
According to Mr Dissangayake only three to four people with port management skills will be brought in from Sri Lanka. Others will come in as trainers.
Focus areas
“So that’s the focus, training, development and creation of employment for the Fijians. Training is a very critical element, in fact Aitken Spence has the largest maritime campus in South Asia,” Mr Dissangayake said.
Fiji Ports Corporation Limited Chief Executive Officer Vajira Piyasena said the new partnership will allow FPCL to concentrate on other infrastructure development.
The Partnership also sets out certain penalties if Aitken Spence did not live up to their part of the bargain.
Speaking at the signing, Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama said the old ways of doing things at the wharves are over. These ports need to run as smoothly and efficiently as possible to ensure that our trade flows more freely and cheaply, for the benefit of all Fijians.
“In the modern global economy, staying competitive is essential and especially for smaller economies like Fiji,” he said.
“So we’ve embarked on a series of reforms, to improve our performance on a range of sectors. To achieve this, we are prepared to enter into partnership with the private sector to ensure economic growth and prosperity.”
He added that there has been far too much corruption and sabotage on our wharves when certain people don’t get what they want.
“We’ve seen far too many restrictive and outdated work practices, far too much over-manning and far too much resistance to change.
Better turnaround for ships
“We need better turnaround times for ships visiting our ports. We need to make Fiji more competitive, more attractive as a trans-shipment hub for other places in the Pacific. And we can only do this by lifting performance standards in Suva and Lautoka,” the Prime Minister said.
He acknowledged that initially there may be re-organization at the wharves as certain changes are implemented and new technology is introduced.
However, these will be more than offset by the creation of new jobs as the benefits flow to the wider economy.
For Aitken Spence, the partnership is just the beginning and they are already looking at investment opportunities in Fiji’s tourism sector. This is an area the company has extensive interests in Sri Lanka and the Maldives.