According to Sri Lankan newspaper The Nation, ZPMC will hold 70% of the shares in the new company and Access 30%. The development can be viewed as part of ZPMC’s drive to become more involved in after-sales, service and maintenance on a global basis, in collaboration with qualified local partners, in a bid to increase profitability (see WorldCargo News May 2013, p7).

In the port of Colombo, ZPMC has supplied cranes to Sri Lanka Port Authority at Jaya Container Terminal, South Asia Gateway Terminals and the newly commissioned Colombo International Container Terminal (CICT), part of China Merchants Holdings (International).

Already, ZPMC Lanka (Pvt) Ltd has entered into a contract with CICT to service and maintain 12 STS cranes and 40 RTGs recently supplied by ZPMC. The contract was signed by CICT CEO Liu Yun Shu and, on behalf of ZPMC Lanka, by Mr. Huang Qing Feng, a vice president of ZPMC.

ZPMC Lanka may look to expand its remit to ports in the Indian sub-continent, South East Asia and Africa. It is also understood that ZMPC will explore possibilities to manufacture and refurbish cranes for these areas in Sri Lanka.