Hambantota port, a big boost for industries

by Jayampathy JAYASINGHE

Birds view of the Hambantota port project

There were at least 50 backhoe excavators at work dotting the vast expanse of the land being excavated for the construction of the new Hambantota Port project. The droning of the backhoe excavators at work in the mid day could be heard up to where the observation platform had been set up.

Work was in progress when we visited the new port site last week accompanied by the Deputy Minister of Ports and Aviation, Dayasritha Tissera. The construction work supervised by Chinese engineers, is expected to be completed this year, marking a milestone in port construction in Sri Lanka.

A mega project that will bring in economic prosperity not only to the people in the southern province but to the whole country as well! Deputy Minister Tissera said the Sri Lanka Ports Authority has signed a deal with the China Harbour Engineering Company to launch the second phase of the Hambantota Port in November.

Deputy Minister Dayasritha Tissera inspecting the port project Earth being removed from the port site

Hambantota Port under construction

Around 200-250 ships sail daily close to Hambantota. We hope to attract at least one-sixth of the fleet to Hambantota for refuelling. By August this year the port would be filled with water and arrangements would be made this year or by the beginning of next year for a ship to call over at the Hambantota harbour, he said.

He said the government plans to develop the Galle harbour as a tourist attraction harbour and work at the Colombo south harbour is now in progress. The government also held discussions with neighbouring countries to develop the Trincomalee and Kankesanthurai harbours. “We should have developed these harbours 15 years ago,” he said.

Sunila Rajawasam

Muri Silva

Prof. Jayanthi de Silva

Indrachapa Balasooriya

He said that some people had reservations about the Hambantota Port project and considered it a daydream four years ago. However, they have been proved wrong.

The Sri Lanka Ports Authority in consultation with the government secured funds for the Port project. “We acquired land for the project after paying compensation to the people. The Chinese government had also realised the importance of this project,”

Major shipping lane

Hambantota, is in close proximity to a major shipping lane in the Indian ocean. It extends from the Far East to Australia and cargo worth billions of dollars from the Far East and Australia is shipped across to the west on this route.

There are tremendous opportunities for Sri Lanka to rake in millions of dollars from ships calling over at the Hambantota Port for bunkering and refuelling. Today only a few ships de-tour and call over at the Colombo Port for refuelling.

We visited the observation platform at the construction site that enables viewers to get a glimpse of the entire project.

The platform is usually crowded with people on weekends, we were told. We met some professionals while others were ordinary folk who accompanied their children to show the work being carried out at the port. The depth and scope of the work carried out by local engineers under the supervision of Chinese experts is tremendous. The entire project is due to be completed by the end of the year.

We spoke to a group of persons at the observation post. The former Commissioner of Inland Revenue, Mrs. Indrachapa Balasooriya was among them. She had come along with her friends to witness the construction before the whole area gets inundated with water in September. “Having read for Geography honours at the University of Peradeniya, I was keen to see the work in progress.

The huge boulders excavated from the dam site can be made use for construction rather than bringing them from outside. We are glad to see that the best Port in South East Asia is being built at Hambantota. It is an arid area where cultivation on a mass scale is not possible. A port of this magnitude will provide jobs for those in the area,” she said.

Employment opportunities

Mrs. Muri Silva, a former University lecturer, said the southern province would be developed when the project is completed. It will provide employment opportunities for the people. Retired Professor Jayanthi de Silva said she was happy to see the development of the southern port and hoped stage 2 and 3 of the project would also be completed soon.

“We are from the south and happy to see that the south is being developed. It has not been developed for a long time. The Ships sailing here have bunkering facilities in the future,” said Mrs Sunila Rajawasam.

Engineer Senarath Rajawasm said “This was the first occasion I visited the Hambantota Port. I worked at the Port Commission after my initial training there. According to my experience, dredging the ground while it is filled with water takes a long time and is also expensive. But what is being done here is that the dredging is done after the water and mud has been siphoned off.

It is fast, convenient and economical. It is also a good technique that the Chinese experts have taught us. In a few months time the first ship will be docked here. When the second phase is completed in 4-5 years’ time, the port will be fully operational to accommodate 33 ships. container yard is also being built to stock containers,” he said.

We visited the bowels of the dam which are about 100 feet below ground level. The excavation process is still under way while the water and mud has been drained out. The ground at the bottom level remains dry.

The bachoe cranes have removed huge boulders at ground level. Asked how much of earth will be removed the Sri Lanka Ports Authority Engineer , M.M.M.C. Bandara said 11 million cubic metres of soil would be removed from an area of 85 hectares, during the first phase of the project.

Sri Lanka Ports Authority Engineer Agil Hewageegana said due to the construction of the new port, the Hambantota-Kataragama road has been closed temporally but the motorists can use other alternative routes to go to Kataragama.

“We have acquired 1500 Hectares of land for the construction of the new port complex. Even the Colombo Port consists of only 300 hectares. We hoped to construct a small harbour in Hambantota initially. When the second phase of the project is completed nine ships could be accommodated. The depth of the harbour will be 17 metres. Huge boulders excavated by backhoe cranes have been dumped in the sea, 4 miles away from the Hambantota harbour in a depth of 60 metres.

The cost of the project is estimated to cost US dollars 360 million. Meanwhile, a 14-storied building will also be constructed. Hewageegana said that the 11 million cubic feet of earth excavated would be deposited into the sea bed to make an island for tourism.

Catalyst for development

The Hambantota Port Development Project was initiated a few years ago following several studies to assess its viability. Initially, Ms. SNC Lavalin International of Canada undertook a preliminary study in 2003. In 2005, the master plan for the Hambantota Port project was completed by Ms Ramboll of Denmark.

The Hambantota port was planned initially as a services and industrial port and to develop it subsequently as a transhipment port with the increase of cargo volume. The construction of a port at Hambantota, one of the less developed regions is seen as a catalyst for major economic development in Sri Lanka. Hambantota is within 10 nautical miles of the world’s busiest shipping lane.

Estimates show that over 100 ships bypass Sri Lanka on their daily voyage between Europe and the Far East.

Hambantota is well positioned and compared to any other Indian port to act as a transshipment centre. Geographically Hambantota is ideally located to serve domestic trade with a direct roadway connection to the southern, central and eastern regions of the island. The port will also pave the way to develop harbour-related industries such as ship-repair, ship building, bunkering, oil refinery, power generation and a free trade zone.