Hambantota could be an important ‘pit stop’ in the Indian Ocean for ships plying the east-west route, a senior business leader told an influential global port industry forum recently.
Invited to make a presentation at the 2018 TOC Asia (Terminal Operator Conference) in Singapore, the Chief Operating Officer of Hambantota International Port Group (HIPG) Mr Tissa Wickramasinghe pointed out that Hambantota is a unique deep-water multi-purpose port located adjacent to the main east-west sea route.
Highlighting the potential for the port to be a new bunker storage and supply location, Mr Wickramasinghe stressed on the importance of its location at midpoint between Singapore and Fujairah, which are the world’s number one and number two bunkering ports respectively.
He briefed delegates at TOC Asia on plans for the port of Hambantota, including the development of a marine-related industrial park and the construction of a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) power plant at the port and disclosed that Hambantota also has the potential to develop the Roll-on/Roll-off (ro-ro) business, with volumes doubling within the first quarter of the year.
The TOC Asia Conference & Exhibition, held in conjunction with Singapore Maritime Week, is the complete Container Supply Chain event for Asia, bringing together shippers, logistics providers, shipping Lines, third-party logistics suppliers, port authorities, terminal operators and other key audiences to learn, debate and network.
This was the fourth occasion that Mr Wickramasinghe was among the eminent speakers at a TOC session, having addressed previous conferences in Dubai and Singapore.
His presentation titled ‘Hambantota Port – New pit stop in the Indian Ocean’ emphasised that Hambantota has the potential of becoming the maritime hub for the Asian and African regions. Mr Wickramasinghe was also invited to be a panellist at the sessions of the ‘Asia & Middle East Infrastructure & Investment Forum 2018’ which was part of TOC Asia.
The forum focused on the need for modern and sustainable infrastructure across the world and touched upon how Asia and the Middle East are the most attractive markets that could drive major infrastructure investment over the next decade. The other panellists at this forum were David Wignall – Chairman, Seaport; Jereon Overbeek – Senior Project Manager, Maritime & Waterways, Royal Haskoning DHV; and Marco Neelsen – CEO, Port of Tanjung Pelepas. The panel was moderated by Rachael White – Content Director, TOC Events Worldwide.
Commenting on the presentation he made to TOC Asia 2018, Mr Wickramasinghe said: “Hambantota and its true potential have not been adequately presented to the international port and shipping community. This was therefore an excellent opportunity to place Hambantota on the map. The interest it generated is most encouraging.”
The Hambantota Port is managed by Hambantota International Port Group (HIPG) and Hambantota International Port Services (HIPS) two new companies set up by the China Merchant Port Holdings (CMPort) and the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA).
CMPort is one of the largest global port operators, with terminal operations around the world, including the Colombo International Container Terminal (CICT), which manages the Colombo Port’s South terminal. In China, the CMPort Group has operations in Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Ningbo, Qingdao, Dalian, Tianjin, Zhanjiang and Xiamen Bay. CMPort also has container terminal operations in the United States, Australia, Nigeria, Djibouti, Togo, Turkey and Brazil as well as in many countries in Asia and Europe.