APL Logistics to establish regional consolidation hub for South Asia in Sri Lanka
APL Logistics plans to establish a regional consolidation hub for South Asia in Sri Lanka by the second half of 2015, the company said in its press release. The announcement came after the signing of an agreement with the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka (“BOI”) on APL Logistics’ investment within the Katunayake Export Processing Zone (“EPZ”). With that, APL Logistics’ wholly-owned subsidiary, APL Logistics Lanka (Private) Limited, has been granted a lease on the land and premises located in the EPZ where it will operate its container freight stations, warehouses and other logistics-related businesses.
APL Logistics said that the next immediate phase of the plan will be focused on the reconstruction of the existing facility on the site into a new state-of-the-art facility. It will 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. With the set-up of APL Logistics’ regional consolidation hub here, we are well-positioned to scale up our operations and meet growing customer demand for reliable regional supply chain solutions in South Asia,” said Beat Simon, APL Logistics President.
APL Logistics has an extensive distribution and transportation network in the country, supported by alliances with local market leaders.
The new facility in Colombo will complement APL Logistics’ existing cargo hubs in North and Southeast Asia. It will connect with as many as 18 container freight stations located within APL Logistics’ South Asia network, providing services like Multi-Country Consolidation and other value-added and pre-retail services tailored to the needs of APL Logistics’ global and regional customer base.
About APL Logistics
APL Logistics is a global supply chain specialist in the Automotive, Consumer, Industrials and Retail verticals. It provides a comprehensive range of origin and destination services in over 60 countries, including freight and transportation management, customs brokerage, warehousing, distribution and supply chain consulting. APL Logistics offers customised technology solutions and applications that help customers analyse and optimise their supply chains. APL Logistics is a unit of Singapore-based Neptune Orient Lines (NOL), a global transportation and logistics company.