ECONOMYNEXT – MTD Walkers PLC has acquired a Sri Lankan firm putting up a small shipyard in a fishery harbour north of Colombo port as part of its diversification strategy and expansion of the marine engineering business, officials said.
Walkers Colombo Shipyard (Pvt) Ltd. aims to attract small merchant ships, fishing vessels and pleasure craft to its yard at Mutwal fishery harbour, its Chief Executive Sarath Obeysekera told a news conference.
It will have facilities to lift vessels out of the water as well as do repairs afloat.
The company is also building two small tug boats which will be used to guide vessels coming for repairs, said Obeysekera, a former chief executive of Colombo Dockyard PLC, now controlled by Japan’s Onomichi Dockyard Company.
“We will compete with Colombo Dockyard to some extent but I’ll also augment the business so the whole country can benefit from shipyard-related businesses.”
MTD Walkers in April 2015 acquired 90 percent of Seagulf UK Private Limited, where Obeysekera was chairman.
Seagulf has a 25 year lease agreement with Ceylon Fishery Harbours Corporation to build and operate a ship repairing facility at Mutwal Fisheries Harbour.
Jehan Amaratunga, Group Executive Deputy Chairman of MTD Walkers, said the company will invest about eight million US dollars in the Mutwal shipyard as part of its diversification from the mainly construction business of the group.
MTD Walkers was a pioneer ship repairer in Sri Lanka having being in the business more than a hundred years ago.
“We are seeing a resurgence of the marine engineering business of the Walkers CML group,” Amaratunga said.
Three years ago Walkers CML bought Colombo Engineering, a firm doing afloat repairs.
The new investment in Mutwal by Walkers is the “first of many shipyards we will set up around Sri Lanka,” Amaratunga said.
“We see a large potential for business outside Sri Lanka which can be attracted.”
Walkers Colombo Shipyard (Pvt) Ltd. aims to attract small merchant ships, fishing vessels and pleasure craft to its yard at Mutwal fishery harbour, its Chief Executive Sarath Obeysekera told a news conference.
It will have facilities to lift vessels out of the water as well as do repairs afloat.
The company is also building two small tug boats which will be used to guide vessels coming for repairs, said Obeysekera, a former chief executive of Colombo Dockyard PLC, now controlled by Japan’s Onomichi Dockyard Company.
“We will compete with Colombo Dockyard to some extent but I’ll also augment the business so the whole country can benefit from shipyard-related businesses.”
MTD Walkers in April 2015 acquired 90 percent of Seagulf UK Private Limited, where Obeysekera was chairman.
Seagulf has a 25 year lease agreement with Ceylon Fishery Harbours Corporation to build and operate a ship repairing facility at Mutwal Fisheries Harbour.
Jehan Amaratunga, Group Executive Deputy Chairman of MTD Walkers, said the company will invest about eight million US dollars in the Mutwal shipyard as part of its diversification from the mainly construction business of the group.
MTD Walkers was a pioneer ship repairer in Sri Lanka having being in the business more than a hundred years ago.
“We are seeing a resurgence of the marine engineering business of the Walkers CML group,” Amaratunga said.
Three years ago Walkers CML bought Colombo Engineering, a firm doing afloat repairs.
The new investment in Mutwal by Walkers is the “first of many shipyards we will set up around Sri Lanka,” Amaratunga said.
“We see a large potential for business outside Sri Lanka which can be attracted.”
No comments:
Post a Comment