Sri Lanka's landmark Hambantota Portphase one project, which includes the construction of a bunkering terminal, is expected to be completed ahead of time, a chief engineer working on the project said. Work on two breakwaters (east and west) for the port is 65% completed, and excavation and dredging is in progress for the channel across the Karagamlewaya. Janaka Kurukulasuriya, chief engineer for the southern port development, was reported saying the project could be completed before the scheduled 2011 target. The $360 million first phase of the project includes a 500,000-metric tonne (mt) bunkering terminal. The first phase also includes a 1,000-metre jetty and an oil refinery estimated to cost $1 billion. Kurukulasuriya said the port will be developed initially to cater to the industrial and service sectors and later for container traffic. The completed port is expected to spark the development of harbour-related industries such as ship repair, ship building, bunkering, break bulk, power generation and a free trade zone. The entire port project consists of four stages and is expected to be fully completed in 15 years following the 2007 start. Hambantota, at the southern tip of Sri Lanka, is close to international shipping routes. At present more than 100 vessels pass the country's south-west coast daily, giving no value Sri Lanka's economy, according to Kurukulasuriya. He said the first vessel could sail from the port by January 2011. Local bunker players have said the new Hambantota bunkering terminal would boost bunker fuel supplies in the market and possibly bring down bunker prices.
Hambantota's first phase to be completed ahead of time
"...first vessel could sail from the port by January 2011"
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