Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Shipping, Ports and Aviation Committee, the of Sri Lanka’s National Chamber of Commerce (NCCSL), Sujeiva Samaraweera, said this week that Hambantota could be on course to become one of greatest port cities of the world.
The Hambantota project includes the construction of a sea port and airport.
The first ship should enter the port in the early part of 2011 and the project’s bunkering terminal is expected to be operating in the first quarter of the same year.
The $360 million first phase of the bunkering terminal project will have an initial capacity for 100,000 metric tonnes (mt).
The Chinese government is funding 85% of a total development cost of $76.5 million for the bunkering terminal with the remaining 15% coming from the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA).
Latest reports say the storage terminal will have eight tanks dedicated to bunker fuel.
The NCCL argues that Sri Lanka has “huge potential for transshipment, bunkering, ship repair and ship building”.
A recent statement from NCCSL called on the Sri Lankan Government to bring down terminal handling charges (THC) to boost the country’s exports.