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The Minister of Ports Development and Shipping Rauff Hakeem has instructed the Sri Lanka Ports Authority to begin the construction work of the Oluvil Port in August.

The project funded by the Danish international Development Agency (DANIDA) will be implemented in two stages.

Stage one includes the construction of two rubble mound breakwaters of 1215 m in length, which would enclose a total water area of 16ha of which 10 ha would be used for commercial harbour activities and the remaining area would be used for fisheries activities. In stage one, the basin of the commercial harbour would be dredged to eight metres to accommodate 5000 DWT vessels.

A steel sheet pie wall 330m long would be constructed alongside the northern breakwater for cargo handling activities and for bunkering. The area for loading of supplies such as ice, fuel and water and unloading of fish products are provided with a 200m long steel sheet pile quay wall. In the final stage of development it is envisaged to facilitate 16,000 DWT vessels to use the harbour. Accordingly, the additional area required for the harbour basin will be provided by excavating inland and the dredged depth will be increased to 11 m. The total area of the harbour basin will be 24 ha in the final stage.

The main objective of the Oluvil Port Project is to develop a harbour with appropriate shore facilities to cater to the general cargo vessels that are required to supply the current needs of the area, including coastal passenger transport, with provision for expansion into a bigger harbour in the future. The harbour would also cater to the requirements of the current and projected fishing activities and its shore-based services and industries.

The cost estimates for the stage one of the proposed port development project is nearly US$ 30 million and DANIDA hs made arrangements to fund this project. At present finalisation of tender documents and negotiations for funding formalities are in progress.

Another team of officials from COWI of Denmark, consultants appointed to supervise the project, is planning to visit Sri Lanka at the end of this month to finalise the preparation of documentation work. Once these documents are approved by the auditing team of DANIDA, tenders will be called in April or May.

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