The Sri Lankan government said it signed an agreement with two
Chinese companies on Monday for the construction of Hambantota
Harbor in its deep south.
"Representatives of China Harbor Engineering Company Limited and
Sino Hydro Corporation Limited and the Sri Lanka Ports Authority
have signed agreement for the construction of Hambantota Harbor,"
the Department of Government Information said in a statement.
The total estimated cost for the construction of this project is
US$360 million and the construction work is scheduled to commence
within three months, the statement said.
Once the construction work of the port is completed it can
produce 6,000 direct employment and 50,000 indirect employment
opportunities while developing Hambanthota area.
During the first phase of the project, an industrial port with a
300-meter jetty and a dedicated oil terminal will be constructed at
Hambantota and it will be expanded to a container handling port
during the next two stages to handle 20 million containers per
year.
The first phase of the project is expected to be completed
within the next three years and the whole project is expected to be
completed within 15 years.????
(Xinhua News Agency March 13, 2007)
