Mahinda Rajapaksa Port will boost economy

By Shirajiv SIRIMANE

Sri Lanka would not have to build any more harbours as the government has fulfilled the future demands, said President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

A developing country such as Sri Lanka can be proud that the nation has read the future well in advance and have invested rightly for the future.

The President told the opening of the Ruhunu Magampura Mahinda Rajapaksa harbour that for centuries Sri Lanka had been doing international business as maps show Ceylon have had many harbours.

"However, in recent history these harbours have disappeared and international businesses have declined. "The opening of the Magampura harbour will once again open new vistas and reiterate Sri Lanka's position as a naval hub," he said.

The President also said that in the recent past Sri Lanka entities such as SriLankan Airlines and Shell Gas have been given to foreigners and today this trend has been reversed and Sri Lankans have once again reclaimed them. The country can now be proud of the budget airline Mihin Lanka which is now spreading its wings to other countries.

He also said that Hambantota was one of the most underprivileged provinces and ignored by the international community as well as successive governments. "This harbour ushers prosperity only to Hambantota but also to other surrounding areas as well and place Hambantota once again in the global map."

The idea of building a port in Hambantota was first suggested by the late D.A. Rajapaksa in 1946, but since then it was cold shouldered.

The project again became a hot subject when Mahinda Rajapaksa became the President of Sri Lanka in November 2005 and then the project started moving.

With the idea of port coming into effect, today we can see that it has been coupled with a Combined Development Plan for Hambantota.

The thoughts of the people about Hambantota were arid and harsh. Now their minds are being transformed as a developing zone. The pioneer of this change is the Port. Attention was paid on infrastructure when the basic plans were drawn for the construction of the Port. This was developed as the Combined Development Plan under the guidance of the President.

It is significant that Sri Lanka is located as an island in a central geographical location among Asia, Africa and Oceania continents. The strategic location closer to the second and fourth strong economies such as China and India among the gigantic economies in Middle East, India, China, Malaysia, Australia, is the reason to construct a harbour and to make it a fully functional economic zone.

The ships which arrive from the Middle East and Africa and sail from Asia and Oceania need to have an interim point to get their facilities and Hambantota is the most suitable place for the purpose. The Magampura Port can perform a prominent role as a fuel and crew changing centre as well as for receiving water, drugs, food and fruits. It is an international requirement and a mechanism of generating foreign exchange to the country as well.

Hambantota can be utilised in facility as a cargo transshipment centre for the trade between West and East of Indian sub continent.

The reputation of Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai Ports will be attracted by the Hambantota Port when Sri Lanka would become a hub in the international trade network.

When completed the port project is expected to provide 40% of government income by 2020 and create 25,000 new job opportunities.

It has been said that Asia is the sleeping giant in the global economy and building of five ports would give Sri Lanka a chance to stand up along with other Asian giants.

The Ruhunu Magampura Mahinda Rajapaksa harbour will be the country's second largest port, and would be able to dock larger ships than Colombo.

The region's tallest building a 15-story administrative complex too is now being built and it has reached the half way stage. In addition Phase one includes provision for cargo handling, warehousing, bunkering, providing, maintenance and repair, medical supplies and customs clearing facilities.

The 2,000 hectares of hinterland immediately surrounding the new port will be developed as a dedicated investment and industrial zone. Since Magampura is a free Port more investors would be keen. These include major shipping lines and companies from countries such as India, Singapore, Russia, the Middle East, Australia and China.

Two Chinese companies have undertaken the construction - China Harbour Engineering Company and the Sinohydro Corporation and the investment was US $ 360 million out of which Sri Lanka Ports Authority invested 15 percent.

Commendation should also go to them for delivering the Port nine months ahead of schedule bringing economic benefits from the Port sooner than expected.

History was also created by opening the Port as it is first Port being built inland. This has saved a lot of time and money for the country.

In contrast the Colombo south harbour development would reclaim several areas from the sea adding more land for the country.

While Seth Pirith was being chanted from the mid sea by over 250 Bikkhus and sailed to Ruhunu Magampura Mahinda Rajapaksa harbour last Thursday to invoke blessings for the project. A cargo ship from Myanmar too was unloading Buddha statues, as the first consignment to the Port.

The second stage of the Port too was launched by the President on Thursday and it will be completed in three years making the Port one of the biggest in South Asia.

The Cynosure of all eyes during the opening ceremony was the arrival of the sail boat that left from Galle harbour unfolding the memories of centuries ago.

Taking a note from an ancient piece of history to the large crowds that thronged to record history being made at Magampura, the President said that Ceylonese had even supplied merchandise to Julius Caesar.

One can expect this glorious history to repeat itself with the opening of the Port as several international inventors have shown interest to start up business ventures in this port.