First phase:

Hambantota Port construction Four months prior to due date

Sandasen Marasinghe and Disna Mudalige

The Government can complete the first phase of the Hambantota Port construction project four months ahead of due time, Port and Aviation Deputy Minister Rohitha Abeygunawardena told Parliament yesterday. He said that this project’s first phase is to be completed on April 15, 2011 according to the contract agreement, but the Government hopes to complete it by the end of this year.

The Minister said this in reply to a question raised by UNP MP Dayasiri Jayasekara.

“The total estimated cost for phase one of the project is 361 million US dollars. About 85 percent of this estimated cost of the project is obtained through a loan provided by the Chinese Government through EX-IM Bank of China,” he said.

“Repayment period of this loan is 15 years including a four year grace period. The annual interest rate of this loan is 6.3 percent,” he explained.