Sailing to economic boom

Dharma Sri Abeyratne

Fulfilling a long felt need of development and sea transport of the country, the Hambantota Harbour will commence its operations soon after the historic water filling ceremony on August 15. The Hambantota Harbour project had been stagnating for years as the project remained a political promise until the present Government took steps to make it a reality.

Many rounds of discussions were held during many regimes that came to power. But those were futile until the construction work of the Hambantota Harbour commenced two years ago.

On the other hand the project is a clear indication that Sri Lanka is on a fast development track just after elminating LTTE terrorism. The new harbour will gear to support international and domestic sea cargo transshipment. In conjunction with the Hambantota Airport, the harbour will perform its duty as air-sea cargo transshipping hub. The harbour will also be an alternative to the Colombo International Port the only international harbour in the country.

First ship in November

The Ports and Aviation Ministry is scheduled to bring the first ship into the harbour by November this year. At first, the harbour will be filled with small quantities of water so as to allow the public to wallow and enjoy sight as this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Gradually the harbour will be filled with water up to the required water level and the first ship will be piloted in. When we reached the construction site, there were thousands of local and foreign toiling to make the project a success despite the scrochin sun. Hundreds of trucks, heavy equipment and machinery make a continuous noise indicating that the construction work is in full swing.

The harbour is being constructed in three phases. The first phase is to moor four ships at a time and the construction of two jetties. Each jetty will be 310 metres long and deep enough to berth any large ship. The depth of the harbour from the sea level is 17 meters. However the hight of jetties is 21 metres. Water will be filled up to 17 metres. Four metre gap will remain for water fluctuation and operational purposes. The deepest point in the Colombo Port is 15.5 metres but in the Hambantota harbour it is more than 17 metres. “The largest ever ship in the world needs a 16.5 metre depth. Therefore the Hambantota Harbour is deep enough for any ship in the world,” Ports Authority Chairman Dr. Priyath Bandu Wickrama said.

Multi-storeyed building

The West and East breakwaters which have already been constructed are 988 metres and 312 metres long. A 17 storeyed building will also be constructed for administrative and operational activities.

Harbour related operation and administration activities will be carried out from this building. Under the first phase, 210 metre wide access canal, berthing jetty for small naval crafts, oil terminal, access roads and other buildings for administrative and operational purposes are being constructed.

Soil removing

Around 3,000 hectares have been acquired. The construction work on jetties and soil removing activities are nearing completion.

It has been estimated that 17 million soil metre cubes have to be removed from the site.

This soil will be used for constructing a small island by filling the sea just close to the harbour.

In line with tourism promotion initiatives, the island will be ideal as a tourist attraction.

The island will be connected to the land with an architecturally designed bridge which optimise the panoramic view of the area. “As a harbour Hambantota is significant. Considering the location, it is situated in an easy access location from main sea routes.

The harbour will be the biggest service and industrial port in the country since it is being constructed closest to the international maritime route. It is the nearest point to the main shipping route that connects the East and West.

Passing a few navel miles within a short time, a ship can reach the main shipping route from the harbour easily. Moreover, the region is also considered a better geographical location with fair weather conditions and closer to deep contours for such constructions,” the Chairman said.

An agreement was signed recently between the Ports Authority and the China Harbour Construction Company for the second phase of the harbour project. No sooner the completion of the first phase, construction of the second phase will commence. Under the second phase, access canal will be deepened to 18 metres. The main jetty which will be 2,140 metre long will be constructed. This jetty will facilitate six ships to anchor simultaneously. The oil terminal will be expanded to 300 metres and deepened to 17 metres. In addition there will be more construction such as warehouses, oil storages, building for customs purposes, shipping lines and cargo handling facilities.