SAGT wins Platinum at inaugural National Logistics and Transport Excellence Awards
South Asia Gateway Terminals (SAGT), the first public private partnership container terminal in Sri Lanka, won the Platinum award at the inaugural National Logistics and Transport Awards organised by the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport Sri Lanka (CILTSL).
The prestigious event was held on July 17, 2018, at The Kingsbury. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe graced the occasion as the chief guest while Transport and Civil Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva attended as the guest of honor.
National Policies and Economic Affairs State Minister Dr. Harsha de Silva also attended the event while CILT International President Elect Dato’ Ts Abd Radzak Abd Malek and CILT International Professional Development Coordinator Jon Harris attended representing CILT International. SAGT won the top award in the Corporate Large scale category from the best in the industry.
Upon receiving the award, SAGT Operations General Manager Upul Jinadasa said: “Team SAGT has been globally recognised for its performance excellence on multiple occasions. However, this award is very special to us. As you know SAGT partnered with SLPA in 1999 and set sail on a new journey towards transforming local maritime industry. We faced many challenges, commercial, operational, security and even life-threatening situations since our inception. We were able to work together with all stakeholders involved in the industry and conquer all these challenges to keep the industry from growing. Team SAGT is very proud to have contributed immensely towards building the local maritime industry what we see today. This national recognition is very special to us because it comes from the very same community we have been serving passionately since our inception. I wish to thank the CILT Sri Lanka and the judges for awarding us this prestigious award. We are honoured and inspired by this award and will continue to serve towards ‘Empowering Sri Lanka’s Hub Aspirations.”
SAGT Chief Executive Officer Romesh David said: “SAGT played a key role in establishing the Port of Colombo as a pre-eminent gateway hub in South Asia and we will continue to nurture this aspiration in the future too.”
He also congratulated all the winners and commended CILT Sri Lanka for laying the foundation for a platform which recognizes the contribution of organisations in the logistics and transport industry to the Sri Lankan economy.
SAGT has attracted multiple independent globally recognised ‘best practice’ awards consecutively in the recent past; Ranked numberone in South Asia and numberfour in the world for Terminal Productivity by the Journal of Commerce (JOC) USA in 2015, ranked number-one in the Indian Subcontinent by the Global Ports Forum (GPF) Singapore in 2016/17 and 2018 and awarded Best Employer Brand at The Sri Lanka Best Employer Brand Awards 2017.
South Asia Gateway Terminals (SAGT) is the first public private partnership container terminal in Sri Lanka (with approximately 60 percent Sri Lankan shareholding) and commenced operations in 1999, launching the Port of Colombo as global trade’s preeminent gateway hub to South Asia. Today, the terminal is one of three operators in the Port of Colombo and continues to offer the international container shipping community a competitive best in class service. SAGT is a Board of Investment flagship company whose shareholders include - John Keells Holdings, Maersk/apm Terminals, SLPA and Evergreen.