Sri Lankan bunker project facing delay
Construction work on Sri Lanka's Hambantota bunker terminal has yet to begin, an official from the Sri Lanka Ports Authority told Bunkerworld.
Work on the new terminal has been delayed due to disagreements over the construction contract, said R.M.P.B. Wickrama, vice chairman of the port authority.
''We had to abort the initial construction contract,'' he told Bunkerworld. ''Now we're negotiating with another contractor." He added that he expected to sign another contract in a couple of weeks time.
The building of the terminal is now planned to start between November to December, he said.
Preliminary work on the Chinese-backed Hambantota port project got underway in June.
It is projected to cost $450 million and when completed the terminal should be able handle up to 500,000 metric tonnes (mt) of oil products per year.
''The tank farm can be further expanded up to one million mt, depending on demand,'' said Wickrama.
The port project, which comes under Sri Lanka's National Infrastructure Development Programme Mihindu Randora, was supported with a 85% loan from the Chinese government.
The Chinese companies involved are China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd and Sinohydro Corporation.
The first phase of work, which includes building a bunkering terminal, is scheduled to be completed in about three years.
''The Hambantota port construction will definitely be completed on scheduled as it is a Chinese-backed project,'' said Uditha Doloswala, chief operating officer of Ceypetco Bunkering Services Pvt Ltd.
The recently established bunker supplier has been planning to supply in Galle port in Hambantota. It already supplies in Colombo port.
The Hambantota port will have 11 kilometres (km) of berths capable of handling 20 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) per year.
Included in the development plans are a gas-fired power plant project, a ship repair unit, a container repair unit and an oil refinery.
In addition, a 600 metres (m) jetty will be built for the clearance of cargo containers plus a 300 m jetty to provide services to ships that arrive on the international naval route.
The entire project, to be carried out in four phases, is scheduled to be completed in 15 years.
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| Hambantota bunkering terminal will be completed as scheduled |
''We had to abort the initial construction contract,'' he told Bunkerworld. ''Now we're negotiating with another contractor." He added that he expected to sign another contract in a couple of weeks time.
The building of the terminal is now planned to start between November to December, he said.
Preliminary work on the Chinese-backed Hambantota port project got underway in June.
It is projected to cost $450 million and when completed the terminal should be able handle up to 500,000 metric tonnes (mt) of oil products per year.
''The tank farm can be further expanded up to one million mt, depending on demand,'' said Wickrama.
The port project, which comes under Sri Lanka's National Infrastructure Development Programme Mihindu Randora, was supported with a 85% loan from the Chinese government.
The Chinese companies involved are China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd and Sinohydro Corporation.
The first phase of work, which includes building a bunkering terminal, is scheduled to be completed in about three years.
''The Hambantota port construction will definitely be completed on scheduled as it is a Chinese-backed project,'' said Uditha Doloswala, chief operating officer of Ceypetco Bunkering Services Pvt Ltd.
The recently established bunker supplier has been planning to supply in Galle port in Hambantota. It already supplies in Colombo port.
The Hambantota port will have 11 kilometres (km) of berths capable of handling 20 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) per year.
Included in the development plans are a gas-fired power plant project, a ship repair unit, a container repair unit and an oil refinery.
In addition, a 600 metres (m) jetty will be built for the clearance of cargo containers plus a 300 m jetty to provide services to ships that arrive on the international naval route.
The entire project, to be carried out in four phases, is scheduled to be completed in 15 years.
Lee Hong Liang | Fri Sep 14 03:56 GMT 2007