SL major international transport hub

Lessons from the past should not be forgotten:

Text of the keynote address by Eng (Prof) Amal S. Kumarage, Senior Professor of Civil Engineering, Department of Transport and Logistics Management, University of Moratuwa titled ‘Professional Engineering – Is the way ahead to be found in the past?' at 106th annual sessions of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka held in BMICH on October 19, 2012

Transportation Engineering in Sri Lanka is a relatively new discipline, despite engineers in transport and transport infrastructure having a long history. It is this topic I wish to share with you today.

Sri Lanka’s history has been vastly affected by its maritime developments. There is evidence that Sri Lanka had international shipping from as far back as the Anuradhapura period. The port of Mahathitha at the mouth of the Malwathu Oya, located between Puttlam and Mannar and on the border of Wilpattu was used as early as the 2nd century to access Anuradhapura which was also located along the banks of the same river. It is recorded that after the 7th century AD, there was a shift in the international trade from the Arabian Sea to the Bay of Bengal and traders from China.

This also is said to have contributed somewhat to the demise of Anuradhapura as the capital and the move to Polonnaruwa which was accessible to the Bay of Bengal through the Mahaweli River and the port at Gokanna or Trincomalee. The Chola occupation of Polonnaruwa in the 11th century, is interpreted as their endeavour to strengthen their control of maritime trade in the Western seaboard of the Bay of Bengal.

However in the 12th and 13th century the Chinese policy on international trade changed and Sri Lanka’s international trade returned again to the Arabian Sea. Jaffna peninsula also had two ports Jambukolapattana and Uraturai, both of which served traffic with India. With the migration of the population to the South Western part of the country, after the 12th century, the maritime activity also moved to ports such as Galle, Devinuwera, Weligama, Beruwela and Hambantota which were visited by both Chinese and Persian traders.

Our learnings from this history is that competition between China and India for maritime trade in our ports is not a new feature. The growth and demise of the different ports in Sri Lanka was largely linked to the international policies of these countries. At a time when Sri Lanka has set out to become a major international transport hub developing both its maritime and aviation potential, lessons from the past should not be forgotten. Our seaports and airports are strategic and their potential should be used for our own development and should not be left to the variations in international policy of foreign countries. Sri Lanka should firmly be in control of its international gateways. Sri Lanka’s future independence lies with possession of these gateways. It is therefore not adequate to have harbours or build ports or airports. They should have unfettered control by Sri Lanka to strategically develop and utilize its international trading potential.

Transport during Colonial period

The Portuguese when they arrived in Sri Lanka in 1505 were competing with several other European nations to get supremacy in maritime trading in the Indian Ocean. With their interest in trading in spices and coconut, Colombo port was quickly developed for this purpose. The Dutch world renowned in water engineering, also used their technical expertise in developing an extensive network of canals to provide access to the port. Moreover, water and canal transport was the state of the art transport in the 16th and 17th centuries. This modern and efficient linkage between the international seaport and the producer areas created a synergy that was to make Colombo a major international port. It also made the areas served by the 175 km network of canals and rivers stretching from Kalutara to Negombo develop much faster than the rest of the country. The reason for the Western Province to take a lead position in economic growth in the country dates back to this advantage created by the Dutch in the 17th century.

The British who ruled the country subsequently, consolidated the work of the Dutch and developed the canal system further. They also commenced work on the road network, though initially constructed mostly for political and military purposes, it quickly became used for economic purposes in transporting coffee and rubber grown in the central hills to the port of Colombo. The first of these was the road from Colombo to Kandy which began in 1821 soon after the subjugation of the entire country in 1815. With the promotion of coffee cultivation, road building was considered a priority for reasons of economy and trade. As a result of the shift to tea production from 1880, the road network further expanded to 6,024 kms by the year 1905. Most of these roads were built in areas of economic advantage to export trade and as such, the Central, Sabaragamuwa and Uva provinces were the beneficiaries, albeit at the expense of the neglect of the areas of indigenous agriculture particularly in the dry zone.

International markets

The construction work on a railway commenced in 1858 and the first train operated from Colombo to Ambepussa, in 1864, the year the Suez Canal was opened. The desire for more reliability and speed led to the completion of the line to Kandy from Colombo in 1867, extended to Matale, Bandarawela, Kurunegala and Galle by 1894.

The early 18th century to the end of the 19th century saw the emergence of a multi modal national transport network in the country. Centred on the Port of Colombo which had become the most popular port East of the Suez, this multi modal transport network was based on the original canal network, followed by the railway and road networks. This made Sri Lanka an efficient and a strong exporter of tea, rubber and coconut as it provided excellent inter modal facilities. These three commodities provided moire than 90 percent of external trade even up to 1970s. It was only in 1986 that textiles overtook tea as the major export commodity.

It should be pointed out that even though the transport networks during the period of Colonialism were primarily intended for the benefits of the rulers, their overall economic sensibility cannot be under-valued. They have jointly served the country very well for over 100 years. Moreover, the auxiliary networks such as the trucking networks, import distribution networks as well as the bus networks that followed also made Colombo and more specifically the Pettah, the hub of their operations. Colombo thus became a strong economic centre based on its multi modal international transport and logistics hub that provided strong connections between international markets and production areas at that time. The economy in Colombo was largely built on the value addition to the export trade and later to import trade. This too is an economic base that has continued to date.

Transport infrastructure projects

At time of independence, Colombo also boasted of one of the best urban transport systems in Asia. The extensive bus operations, four well developed railway corridors, and tram cars provided adequate supply together with choice and comfort making Colombo, a city with highly developed transport services. This was a powerful combination. Colombo was truly an international transport node having in addition to its maritime hub, a national transport hub and a well developed urban transport system to support the city, a feature that very few Asian cities had at that time.

To be continued