Title: Inland ports: new dimensions in the transportation structure of Sri Lanka

Authors: Jayantha Rathnayake; Shuwen Yan; J.A. Karunaratne

Addresses: School of Maritime Economics and Management, Dalian Maritime University, Dalian, China ' West Centre for Economic Research, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Sichuan, China; Department of Economics, University of Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka ' Department of Economics, University of Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka

Abstract: This paper examines the need for inland ports in Sri Lanka. A hybrid approach comprising both quantitative and qualitative methods was used in here using the data collected through primary surveys and published sources. It concludes that the inland ports of Sri Lanka are needed not very much as incentive to freight management process but as a solution to capacity-related issues on the roads. Findings further show that inland ports could offer relief to heavily congested roads of the city of Colombo and ushering substantial savings to the economy.

Keywords: inland port; seaport; logistics; capacity issues; globalisation; railways.

DOI: 10.1504/IJLSM.2021.115796

International Journal of Logistics Systems and Management, 2021 Vol.39 No.3, pp.309 - 332

Received: 04 Apr 2019
Accepted: 23 Jun 2019
Published online: 23 Jun 2021 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article