Sri Lanka’s Hambantota International Airport to get a new terminal in 2023
The Sunday Morning: A new container terminal is scheduled to commence operations by the third quarter of 2023 at the Hambantota International Port (HIP), in order to facilitate a dedicated zone for importing and exporting goods, The Sunday Morning Business learns.
A senior official at the Hambantota Port told The Sunday Morning Business that the infrastructure facility plan was currently being discussed at the Port for development purposes, adding that they were at the procurement stage and were obtaining the essentials required, such as cranes from China.
“This will be a small-scale operation, unlike Colombo Port. The container operations will benefit the dedicated Hambantota zone in terms of importing and exporting,” the official said.
According to the official, this project was initially scheduled to begin earlier this year, however, due to unavoidable circumstances, it had been delayed until now. The procuring of cranes will begin by the end of this year or early next year.
This information was revealed after a high-level delegation from Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) visited the HIP to obtain firsthand information on a wide range of subjects relating to port activity and the economy of the southern part of Sri Lanka.
HIP last year signed more than 30 investors from across the globe, including the UK, Singapore, Japan, Sri Lanka, China, and the Maldives, mainly due to its close proximity to the major international east-west shipping route and being well positioned at a strategic location on the maritime gateway to India.
The overall cargo handling volume of the HIP increased by 186% in the first half of 2021 in comparison to the corresponding period in 2020. The total throughput increased from 420,421 MT by the end of June 2020 to a significant 1,206,425 MT in 2021.
Hambantota International Port Group (HIPG) CEO Johnson Liu stated that they were rapidly moving to diversify the HIP industrial zone portfolio by promoting the location internationally. ‘HIP Speed,’ the new operational blueprint of the HIP, impacts all aspects of the port’s activities.
Accordingly, this HIP Speed concept is modelled on the previous hands-on experience of current HIPG CEO Johnson, ensuring efficiency and momentum of projects through the planning and execution phases, and involves constant reviewing of processes to maximise the throughput and ensure maximum benefit to all stakeholders.
The HIP Speed concept is expected to add a new dimension to investment in port operations and allied industries. This concept was introduced to strengthen the processes and infrastructure of the HIP to capitalise on future opportunities that will emerge in the coming year when supply and demand structures change and trade routes are reinvented.
Johnson added: “As per our overall plans, HIP will be a port that will complement the services of other ports operating in Sri Lanka.”
This concept also extends to customers establishing their operations in the port’s industrial zone and is aimed at providing optimum support in clearing any bottlenecks.
HIPG is also working on establishing branch offices of leading investor companies and shipping and logistics agents, with seven floors of the Maritime Centre currently leased out to more than 30 interested parties.
OSL take:
Sri Lanka’s geographical positioning in the Indian Ocean and strong trade ties have continuously increased the business/investment opportunities in the country’s maritime sector. Also, the expanding economic activities have increased opportunities in the ports, shipping and logistics sectors. There are also a host of business/investment opportunities in the field of setting up supplementary infrastructure facilities in the maritime industry. Given the growing business potential in Sri Lanka’s maritime industry, foreign businesses/investors could explore the expanding opportunities in the ports, shipping and logistics sectors.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/24052022/Z_4 |