Page 8 - CICT Magazine e-Version May 2021

CICT named Best Container Terminal for the 4th consecutive year.
Beats terminals in South Korea, China and Indonesia to
win prestigious AFLAS award in Under 4 million TEUs
category
As the global logistics and supply chain industry struggles
to cope with the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic,
Colombo International Container Terminals (CICT)
has brought honour to the Port of Colombo by being
adjudged the Best Container Terminal in Asia in the Under
4 million TEUs category for a record fourth consecutive
year.
The winner of this coveted award was announced on
Monday 9th November at the 2020 Asian Freight,
Logistics and Supply Chain (AFLAS) awards gala in Hong
Kong.
CICT, which is managed by China Merchants Port
Group (CMport), beat three other shortlisted finalists
in its category – Busan New Container Terminal (South
Korea), Dalian International Container Terminal (China)
and Jakarta International Container Terminal (Indonesia)
– to win the award.
CICT’s victory in its categoryat the best container terminal
awards puts it in the company of globally-respected
terminals of the calibre (best container terminal awards)
of PSA Singapore Terminals, the Asia winner in the Over
4 million TEU’s category and PSA Antwerp, the winner
asadjudged the best container terminal in Europe.
Hosted by Asia Cargo News, the AFLAS awards are
designed to honour leading service providers including
air and shipping lines; airports and seaports; and logistics, Colombo, the first and currently the only deep water
3PLs and other associated industry professionals for
demonstrating leadership as well as consistency in service
quality, innovation, customer-relationship management
and reliability.
“We are delighted to be crowned the best container
terminal of our size in Asia for four years in a row,”
CICT CEO Mr Jack Huang said. “Besides the intense
competition among terminals across the region, these
are challenging times for all players in sectors linked
to international transportation, and retaining our
position at the top is a great demonstration of our
consistency even in hard times. This award is therefore
a valuable tribute to the entire CICT team, the
management and all our stakeholders.”
“We are also grateful to the Sri Lanka Ports Authority for
its support, and to our staff whose commitment enabled
CICT to be 100% operational during the difficult time of
the pandemic , minimising the adverse impact to the port
and the country.”
05
The AFLAS winners are decided by going through a
three-step process, taking into account industry opinions,
and through nomination criteria and technical evaluation
by Asia Cargo News. The shortlist of finalists is sent out
to more than 15,000 readers to vote.
Mr Huang attributed CICT’s achievement to the terminal’s
persistently high levels of productivity leading to fast ship
turnaround times. Nominees for the AFLAS awards are
judged on adherence to criteria standards encompassing
higher operational productivity, efficient turnaround of
trucks delivering and picking up containers; provision of
suitable container shipping-related infrastructure; cost
competitiveness, customer service level and customer
satisfaction; timely and adequate investment in new
facilities to meet future demand; innovative operating
environment, facilitation of ancillary services and ease of
doing business activities; and effective and easy-to-use IT
systems.
Leading companies in the cargo, logistics and supply chain
sectors took home more than 40 different awards at the
2020 presentation at the Hotel ICON, Hong Kong.
Written by leading transport and cargo industry journalists,
Asia Cargo News is a vital source of intelligence for cargo,
logistics and supply chain companies located in and doing
business in Asia. The newspaper includes a range of in-
depth features, news and analysis designed to meet the
information needs of industry decision-makers.
CICT manages the South Terminal of the Port of
terminal in South Asia, which is equipped with facilities
to handle the largest vessels afloat. Since its inception in
2014, the terminal has incrementally grown the volume it
has handled; from 686,639 teus in 2014, to 1.56 million
teus in 2015, 2 million teus in 2016, 2.38 million teus in
2017, 2.67 million teus in 2018, and 2.9 million teus in
2019.