Construction work on a new deep-water port in Sri Lanka's southern coast region of Hambantota will begin next week, according to Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) officials.
SLPA vice chairman R M P B Wickrama said the $420 million first phase of the project, which includes the construction of breakwaters and two terminals for containers and oil/gas products, is scheduled to be completed in about three years.
Wickrama said that the SLPA has already secured loans from the Chinese government to help fund the project.
The SLPA had recently also signed contract agreements with the Chinese consortium of China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd and Syno Hydro Corp Ltd for construction works needed in the first phase development.
The new Hambantota port will be built in the Karagan Levaya lagoon, and upon final phase completion will boast 11 kilometres (km) of berths capable of handling up to 20 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) per year.
Included in the development plans are a gas-fired power plant project, a $1 billion oil refinery and the construction of a bunkering terminal.
The plan is for the bunkering terminal to handle up to 500,000 metric tonnes (mt) of oil products a year. Construction of the bunkering teminal is expected to cost about $87 million.
According to Wickrama, the government decided the location of the based on its close proximity to shipping lanes, especially the main East-West trade route across the Indian Ocean.
A new port project is essential due to impending congestion at Colombo and the acute lack of expansion possibilites at the capital port, he added.
Industry sources have been pointing to China's foreign policy planning as the main reason behind enthusiastic Chinese funding for the development of Pakistan's Gwadar, Myanmar's Sitwe and Hambantota.
Wickrama said the Chinese government would give Sri Lanka $375 million out of $420 million needed for the project, although there is no indication of how much would be a grant and how much would be a loan.
SLPA vice chairman R M P B Wickrama said the $420 million first phase of the project, which includes the construction of breakwaters and two terminals for containers and oil/gas products, is scheduled to be completed in about three years.
Wickrama said that the SLPA has already secured loans from the Chinese government to help fund the project.
The SLPA had recently also signed contract agreements with the Chinese consortium of China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd and Syno Hydro Corp Ltd for construction works needed in the first phase development.
The new Hambantota port will be built in the Karagan Levaya lagoon, and upon final phase completion will boast 11 kilometres (km) of berths capable of handling up to 20 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) per year.
Included in the development plans are a gas-fired power plant project, a $1 billion oil refinery and the construction of a bunkering terminal.
The plan is for the bunkering terminal to handle up to 500,000 metric tonnes (mt) of oil products a year. Construction of the bunkering teminal is expected to cost about $87 million.
According to Wickrama, the government decided the location of the based on its close proximity to shipping lanes, especially the main East-West trade route across the Indian Ocean.
A new port project is essential due to impending congestion at Colombo and the acute lack of expansion possibilites at the capital port, he added.
Industry sources have been pointing to China's foreign policy planning as the main reason behind enthusiastic Chinese funding for the development of Pakistan's Gwadar, Myanmar's Sitwe and Hambantota.
Wickrama said the Chinese government would give Sri Lanka $375 million out of $420 million needed for the project, although there is no indication of how much would be a grant and how much would be a loan.