Investors from the private sector have submitted enquiries to the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) to set up business in the new Hambantota port in the south of the country. SLPA acting chairman Priyath Bandu Wickrema said private sector investors are looking for opportunities in Sri Lanka's southern region. Work on the Hambantota project, by contractors from China, has been proceeding ahead of schedule, Wickrema was reported saying. ''We have a business plan,'' Wickrema was quoted saying. ''We plan to issue an RFP (request for proposals) in the first quarter of 2009. We've got a lot of requests from local and foreign parties.'' The Sri Lanka government envisages operations in Hambantota port to first start with the storage and sale of bunker fuels, mainly for ships passing the south coast. A $76.5-million bunker terminal will be built with an initial capacity of 500,000 metric tonnes (mt). The terminal is expected to be completed in mid-2010. A local industry source told Bunkerworld earlier that SLPA may lease out the bunker tank space to local or foreign firms. The entire Hambantota port project consists of four stages which is scheduled to be completed in 15 years following the 2007 start. The first phase of the project includes the bunkering terminal, a 1,000-metre jetty and an oil refinery.
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