Magampura Mahinda Rajapaksa Port

History

Background

The inland harbour on the Walawe river and the sea harbour on the bay of Godavaya in Ambalantota Trade were an important component in the economy of ancient Sri Lanka, and Godavaya was an important maritime settlement, serving Tissamaharama and Ridiyagama in the kingdom of Ruhuna. This port was first known to be operational in the general area of Hambantota around 250 BCE, when Chinese and Arabian merchants used it as part of the maritime silk route. Around the 1st century CE, a furnace powered by monsoon winds was built near Embilipitiya, which used wind based air supply to produce high carbon steel. This steel was exported to Rome and other European areas for the manufacture of armor and swords, with ships sailing to a port in Hambantota to obtain steel.

In 2002 Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe unveiled the "Regaining Sri Lanka" programme, which identified the Hambantota Seaport for development. The proposals for the port area include a refinery, petrochemical related industries, a coal powered thermal power station and a desalination plant

Construction and opening

Construction started on 15 January 2008, the Hambantota Port and was constructed by the Chinese companies China Harbour Engineering Company and Sinohydro Corporation. The total cost of the first phase of the project is estimated at $360 million, excluding $76.5 million for the bunker terminal. 85% of the funding was provided by the Chinese Government and the remaining 15% by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority.

Initially set to open in the first half of 2011, five months ahead of schedule, the first phase of the project was completed by November 2010.

The harbor was formally declared open on 18 November 2010, by Sri Lanka's president Mahinda Rajapaksa with a ceremonial berthing of a vessel at the port. After sailing 90 nautical miles from the Naval Base in Galle, Sri Lanka Navy's ship "Jetliner" was the first vessel to drop anchor at the harbor. Two vessels, Pradeepa 2 (a traditional sailing yacht) and a commercial cargo ship followed the jetliner ceremonially sailing into the new harbour. Pradeepa 2 was chosen in recognition of Sri Lanka's age old role as a key stopping point on the ancient east-west silk trading route. Workers unloaded the first consignment of international cargo from Myanmar from the vessel "Seruwila" at the auspicious time of 06:21 GMT. A first day cover and a special commemorative stamp were issued by the Department of Post - Sri Lanka to mark the event.The launch of the second phase of the development of the port commenced at 06:27 GMT on the same day. There is also a move to create this port as a free port due to its commercial inactivity.

However the Rajapaksa government turned down many proposals such as floating dock by China harbour Coroporation with a local investor, a proposal by a middle eastern firm to operate oil storage and bunking was turned down due to influence from a young minister who wanted to make profit by keeping the activities under their control. Proposals for bottling factories , sugar bagging plants and grain processing plants were also down.

The port made losses of Rs.18.8 Billion resulting the debt payment burden falling on tax payers. After the fall of Rajapaksa government Prime Minister Ranil wickremesinghe visited China to solve the issue. As a result Sri Lanka entered into a PPP agreement with China Merchants Port company to revitalize the Port alongside the creation of a large Special Economic Zone of 15,000 acres However the plans including the Special Economic Zone received heavy opposition from Rajapaksa who threatened with social unrest.

Location

Sri Lanka is situated along the key shipping route between the Malacca Straits and the Suez Canal, which links Asia and Europe. An estimated 36,000 ships, including 4,500 oil tankers, use the route annually. However the only major port in Sri Lanka, the Port of Colombo, is catered towards container handling and is unable to provide facilities for port related industries and services. Therefore, a new port was proposed near the city of Hambantota, which has a natural harbor and is located on the southern tip of Sri Lanka close to international shipping routes.

A new port will help relieve pressure on the Colombo port, and also provide services to ships that normally take three-and-a-half-day detours from their shipping lanes to receive these services, including refueling, maintenance, logistics and buying provisions and medical supplies. Proposals to build a port in Hambantota date back over three decades, but plans never got out of conceptual stages. The Port of Hambantota project was finally launched after Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is a native of Hambantota, was elected President of Sri Lanka in 2005. A leading maritime expert, Nuwan Peiris, commented that this port is a conflict between '...the intervention of two Asian superpowers in Sri Lanka, namely China and India, in a bid to gain supremacy in the case of the former, and a proxy-battle to maintain its natural defense-perimeter in the case of latter. Chinese involvement in a harbour project (Hambantota) in the down-south of the island has given this battle a renewed intensity. This Article further examines the geopolitical background that led to this battle, and looks how “energy security” becomes the core for geopolitical change in the South Asian landscape'.

Facilities

The first phase of the Port of Hambantota will consist of two 600m general purpose berths, a 310m bunkering berth and a 120m small craft berth. It will also contain a bunkering facility and tank farm which will include 8 tanks for marine fuel, 3 tanks containing aviation fuel and 3 for Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG). A 15 floor administrative complex will also be constructed as part of the project.

The mouth of the natural harbor at Hambantota has a 22m depth. When completed, the port will have a 1.5 km long breakwater, with a minimum basin depth of 17m. This is compared to the 15.5m depth of the Port of Colombo. The turning circle will be 600m. A dam will also be built to prevent flooding in nearby areas, and a seawall made of interlocking concrete blocks will protect the port from high seas.

A $550 million tax-free port zone is being set up outside the port, with local and international companies expressing interest in setting up shipbuilding, ship-repair and warehousing facilities in the zone. It is expected to be completed by November 2010.

The finished project is expected to provide indirect employment to over 50,000 people.

Future expansion

The second phase of the Port of Hambantota project, which will include a container terminal, is expected to be completed by 2014. The second stage of the port is estimated to cost around US$750 million. The third phase will include a dockyard. Upon completion, the port will cover 4,000 acres (16 km²) of land and accommodate 33 vessels at any given time, making it the largest port in South Asia.

Port operations

The SLPA had decided to divert all vehicle shipments to the Ruhunu Magampura International port from May 31 as a measure to relieve the congestion at Sri Lanka's main port Colombo Harbour. On June 6, 2012, Ruhunu Magampura International Port officially started Transshipment Operations with the N4K FRICIA ship from Japan containing 15 vehicles and the Ellison Sun with 1000 vehicles from Chennai Harbour, India.

Japanese, South Korean and Indian car makers have begun transshipping increasing numbers of vehicles through the port. In the first nine months of 2014, the number of vehicles handled at Hambantota crossed the 100,000 mark, up more than 300% compared to the same period in 2013, with the number of ship calls more than doubling to 161. The biggest user of the port is the Hyundai plant near Chennai while Tata and Maruti vehicles also come from Mumbai. In future, all Hyundai vehicles made in South Korea, China and India will be transhipped through Hambantota 15,000 units a month once more yard space is available.

Incidents

In December 2016, a mob of workers who were believed to be backed by Rajapaksa loyalists vandalised the Port and took several ships hostage.The 13 storeyed building which was taken over by the strikers was flooded, and CCTV systems and electricity shut down.However swift action by Navy rescued the ships and began repairing damaged infrastructure thus reducing the damage.The Rajapaksa involvement was further proven by the fact that Rajapaksa loyalists supported the strikers and wore black bands in support in addition many of the leaders of the strike well as a protest against the SEZ that happened in Hambantota alongside the strike was led by members of the Nil Balakaya a organization creates by Namal Rajapaksa. As a result a shipping line also sent a bill of $400000 as damages to the ports authority. The said workers were politically appointed by Nil Balakaya during the Rajapaksa regime and lacks legal documents to validate their employment