Transshipment of vehicles from India, which is positioning itself as a small-car making hub, has been growing through Colombo.
"The Port of Colombo is gearing itself to tap into the transshipment of the vastly growing Indian vehicle exports," said SLPA chairman Saliya Wickramasuriya.
The overall export of vehicles from India is expected to grow at a rate of almost 25 percent.
This includes motorcycles and three wheeled vehicles, commercial vehicles and passenger cars.
"The transshipment of Indian vehicles through Colombo has seen moderate growth in the past few years," Wickramasuriya told LBO.
"In addition the import of Indian vehicles in to Sri Lanka has seen a sharp increase especially since the enforcement of the Indo-Lanka Free Trade Agreement.
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Imports of Indian vehicles for local use has also been growing and they have been taking market share from Japanese brands which used to dominate the Sri Lankan market.
The bulk of vehicle imports to Sri Lanka are now