Harbour pilots familiarise themselves with manoeuvring vessels at Hambantota Port

During the official visit of President Mahinda Rajapaksa to China in 2007 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of bilateral relations between the People’s Republic of China and Sri Lanka, special negotiations were conducted with Chinese President Hu Jintao with a view to obtaining financial assistance to construct the Hambantota Harbour.

The mega container vessel ‘Wan Hai 502’ entering Magam Ruhunupura Mahinda Rajapaksa Port for pilot manoeuvring yesterday

The Chinese Government agreed to provide 85% of the estimated cost of US$ 360 million for the construction of the harbour under a special loan scheme. Subsequently, the signing of financial agreement for the Hambantota Port Development Project was held on 30 October 2007 at Temple Trees under the patronage of President Rajapaksa. Construction commenced on 15 January 2008.

The feasibility study for the construction of Magam Ruhunupura Port was carried out by SNC Lavolis, a Canadian international company, and the basic designs were prepared by the Denmark Rambol Company in 2005.

Under Stage I, the West Breakwater of 988 m, the East Breakwater of 312 m, a ships terminal of 600m, a service terminal of 105 m, an oil terminal of 610 m, a ships turning circle of 600 m were constructed with a basin draught of 17 m, and a port access canal having a width of 210 m and a draught of 17m. The deepened land area in Stage I is 43 h.a., enabling the facilitation of 100,000 DWT capacity ships.

Meanwhile, the construction of a fuel terminal at the port was commenced on 7 October 2009 by the China Huanqiu Contracting and Engineering Corporation with a cost of US$ 76 million. Under the project, 14 tank farms are being constructed with a full capacity of 80,000 m3. Among them, eight tanks will be dedicated for ships oil while three for aircraft oil and another three for LP gas.

The Administrative Building at the site commenced constructions on 7 October 2009 and the constructions are being carried out by the same China Harbour Engineering and Syno Hydro Co-operation joint venture. The building consists of 15 stories including a total a total floor area of 100,000 sq. ft. and with a height of 200 ft.

As the Port of Magam Ruhunupura was developed as an environmentally-friendly port from the initial stages, there have not been any environmental issues which many development projects may have to undergo. The Garden Port concept which many countries follow is utilised to join the complex mechanism process and the environment and it creates a conducive climate for employees.

With the completion of Stage I of the project, ‘Karadiyawara Mangalaya,’ the sea water filling ceremony of the Magam Ruhunupura Port took place on 15 August 2010 under the supervision of the Chairman of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) Dr. Priyath B. Wickrama on the instructions of Speaker and MP for Hambantota District Chamal Rajapaksa and under the guidance of the President.

Turning a new chapter in the country’s socioeconomic development, the first stage of the Magam Ruhunupura Mahinda Rajapaksa Port was commissioned by the President on 18 November 2010 with the arrival of the vessel ‘Jetliner,’ followed by a sailing ship and a cargo ship the MV ‘Seruwila,’ symbolising the commencement of commercial operations in the Magam Ruhunupura Mahinda Rajapaksa Port in Hambantota.

Following the commissioning, the Mahinda Rajapaksa Port in Magam Ruhunupura also received ISPS certification as per the IMO recommendation and the UN Locator Code ‘LKHBA’ has also been allocated. Despite several misleading reports published in few print media on the port’s inability to accommodate vessels, the above certifications assured the port as an eligible and a safe port for operations.

As the infrastructure and other facilities being constructed at the port for efficient operations are nearing completion rapidly, the first large container vessel called at the Mahinda Rajapaksa Port yesterday, 28 April, for the harbour pilots to familiarise themselves with manoeuvring vessels into and out of the port.

This mega container vessel ‘Wan Hai 502,’ owned by Wan Hai Lines (Pte) Ltd., of Kaohsiung, Taiwan, having a length of 260 metres and heavily laden with containers and drawing a draught of 12.0 metres, was on its voyage from Port Kelang Malaysia to Colombo when it stopped over at Magam Ruhunupura.

In the days ahead, several more vessels of different capacities and draughts belonging to reputed international shipping lines are due to arrive at the port to enable harbour pilots to familiarise themselves.

Meanwhile, the project committee appointed for the consideration of the request of the investors who are interested for the investments in Magam Ruhunupura Port premises issued 63 applications locally and internationally and 27 investors submitted their proposals for the investments.

More than 2,000 hectares of lands adjoining the harbour will be declared as a special economic and industrial zone to boost industrial and commercial activities. Out of the 27 investors who expressed interest to commence projects, six investors had bid for cement industry while two had expressed for vehicle assembling and another two for gas.

The Project Committee received proposals from three investors for warehousing, two for petro-chemicals and one each for sugar refinery, fertiliser and canning. Meanwhile, other proposals have also been brought out to commence various relevant industries of importance and all investors have been identified as reputed and leading business ventures and entrepreneurs in and out of the country.

Since the inception of container operations at the Port of Colombo, it took about 20 years to handle a capacity of two million TEUs. Hence, in 2004, the Port of Colombo handled two million TEUs of containers, which has grown to four million TEUs by 2010. The total is expected to be 10 million TEUs by 2020, when the port will generate 40% of the Government income.

Last year, the State-run JCT of SLPA also singlehandedly reached a historic record throughput of two million TEUs in 11 months. This clearly shows the length of time factor that is needed by any project or programme in order to emerge as a reliable and strong economic venture.

Accordingly, with the time being managed efficiently and correctly with the correct development strategies, Mahinda Rajapaksa Port in Magam Ruhunupura will definitely emerge as a port that not only feeds the national economy at large, but also as the most important regional port situated in the closest proximity to international shipping routes.