Port of Hambantota fills today
 

Giving impetus to the socio-economic development process of future Sri Lanka and fulfilling the objectives of the development of port sector in the country as being identified in 'Mahinda Chintana', phase one of Hambantota Port development Project will come into completion on the 15th August 2010 with the filling of its basin with sea water.

The historic ceremony that will be held with the initiative of His Excellency the President Mahinda Rajapaksa will be attended by a large number of distinguished guests of both local and foreign authorities.

Hambantota Port Development Project was initiated few years ago following studies to assess the viability of constructing a port for overall maritime activities in the area. Initially M/s SNC Lavalin International of Canada undertook a preliminary study in 2003. In the year 2005, preparation of the master plan for Hambantota port project was completed by M/s Ramboll of Denmark.

Nearly 85% of Hambantota project is financed by the Government of China on a loan agreement signed between the two countries,as such construction works were undertaken by a Chinese consortium namely, M/S China Harbour Engineering Company & Sinohydro Corporation Joint Venture. The total project cost will be US$ 361 million. The entire port belongs to the Government of Sri Lanka and all operations will be handled by Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA).

A fully fledged Bunkering facility and a Tank Farm project will also be constructed at Hambantota Port with 14 tanks with an expenditure of US$ 76, 581, 774.

Eight tanks out of the 14 will be utilised for bunkering while the other six will be utilized as three each for aviation fuel and LPG tanks. The 14 tanks will offer a total capacity of 80,000m3. China Huanqiu Contracting and Engineering Corporation works as the contractor of the project.

Port of Hambantota was initially planned as a services and industrial port and subsequently with the objective of developing it transshipment port depending on the increase in cargo volumes.

Initially, Hambantota being one of the poorest regions in Sri Lanka and as such the construction of a port at Hambantota will be an important catalyst for a major economic development in the region as well as the country.

Project Rationale

The location of the proposed Hambantota Port is supported by the following consideration.

(i) Hambantota is within 10 nautical mile of the world's busiest shipping lane, It is ideally located directly at the intersection of major international sea trading routes. Over 100 ships bypass Sri Lanka daily during the voyage between Europe and the Far East, necessitating the carrying of a large quantity of fuel and supplies for the journey, which could be replaced by cargo if servicing are provided midway at Hambantota.

(ii) As a Greenfield site, Hambantota possesses a significant advantage in that it can be planned without any restriction to achieve high port performance and productivity.

(iii) The natural depth along the coastline is ideally suited for the development of a deep-water port. The approach to the port does not necessitate a long dredged channel.

(iv) As a strategically situated maritime gateway to India (for transshipment container cargo), Hambantota is very well positioned. It is better located than any Indian port to act as transshipment center ,because of equi-distance to, and ability to serve both, the east and west coasts of India as well as Myanmar, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and smaller countries such as the Maldives.

(v) Hambantota enjoys a very good geographic location to serve domestic trade, with direct roadway connection to the southern, central and eastern areas of the Island. In this respect, it is better located to serve the southern half of the Island than Galle, and it enjoys a unique location in the Southern Region for linking to the Central and Eastern provinces by road.

These connections are not currently in good condition and would have to be improved for the port to develop as an important domestic trade center. Hambantota is quite distant from Colombo and therefore would function best as an independent rather than overflow port.

(vi) Hambantota possesses extensive land area for expansion and labour -related activities such as port related industries, warehousing and servicing .This is a unique feature that provides a distinct advantage over other ports.

(vii) The proposed port will stimulate the development of harbor-related industries such as ship repair ,shipbuilding ,bunkering, break bulk, oil refinery, power generation plant, and a free trade zone etc.

(viii) The immediate vicinity of Hambantota has a low population density and minimally developed agriculture ,which will allow growth of the port centre to occur relatively unimpeded by pre-existing constraints or land -use competition.

(ix) Considering weather conditions, Hambantota is not subject to the cyclonic activities that periodically affect the Bay of Bengal and the north-eastern coast of Sri Lanka, and it does not experience the full force of the South-West monsoon.

(x) It is hoped that constructing the new port in Hambantota will be the cost effective compared to other potential locations. This is due to two factors , the relatively favorable geotechnical conditions and the potential for constructing in the dry.

Proposed services of the port

In view of the deeper berths and location advantages at Hambantota, it may be possible to attract most of the port related industries such as Cement, Fertilizer etc.. Since the maximum draft at Colombo is limited to 10 m for general cargo vessels, manufacturers may invest at Hambantota to get the advantage of "Economies of scale".

Port basin could be used for the services vessels of bunkering facility and for larger fishing vessels.

Since the Major shipping route is very close by ,off shore services such as ship channelling ,supply of water ,supply of fuel, crew changes etc could be undertaken from this proposed port.

Supplies for coal power generation, transshipment of vehicles etc could also be undertaken.

The wave climate in the project area is influenced by two distinct wave systems, swells from the Indian Ocean and sea waves generated by local winds. The swells come constantly from south all year around while the waves approach to the site from southwest in SW monsoon season and the SW sea waves are dominated strong.

Present position

The most important fact of this project is the completion of all preliminary activities within a very short time with the participation of local experts. Preliminary studies, data collection, feasibility studies, environmental impact assessment and detailed engineering designs etc. were completed within a very short time.

Based on the engineering designs, a Chinese Joint Venture Construction company which was nominated by the Government of China submitted on offer for the construction of phase 1 including all infrastructure facilities, buildings, plants and equipment etc., and after negotiations the contract was awarded to the same Join Venture.

Government of China has agreed to fund for this project and as per the contract the total cost estimate for the Phase 1 of the project is US $ 360 million.

The main construction work of the phase 1 was officially commenced on 15th January 2008 and the project duration was scheduled for 39 months. The project is planned to be completed on 15th April 2011.

Brief summary of the project features

The main construction work includes, construction of two breakwaters, excavation of the 17m depth basin area, dredging of 210m wide entrance channel, construction of a service berth, a general purpose berth, an oil berth, roads and buildings.