Sri Lanka's newly appointed Cabinet Minister for Ports and Shipping, Premitha Bandara Tennakoon, has decided to encourage shipping lines to pay Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) in US dollars. The minister has taken initiative to discuss with all stakeholders in the shipping industry as well as Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) officials to increase the revenue in US dollars. His initiative has resulted in converting payments that were paid by shipping lines to SLPA from local currency to US dollar.