Hambantota harbour first phase to end by December 2010

Dharma Sri Abeyratne

The first phase of the Hambantota harbour is scheduled to be completed by December 1, next year, the Project Engineer Suranga Peiris said.

The harbour is being constructed under three phases, the first phase to moor three ships at a time and the construction of two jetties. Each jetty will be 310 metres long and deep enough to berth large ships.

The depth of the harbour from the sea level is 17 meters.

The deepest point in Colombo harbour is said to be 15.5 meters. Two water breakers have already been constructed at Hambantota.

"Around 4,000 acres of the required land have been acquired. The construction work on jetties and soil removing activities are going on. It has been estimated that 17 million metre cubes of soil will have to be removed from the site," Peiris added.

A seventeen storeyed building will also be constructed for administrative and operational activities.