Justin Joseph
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Sri Lanka looks to India for Phase II of port China built
As it brings to close a sensitive port project in collaboration with China, Sri Lanka would like India to participate vigorously in the next phase of infrastructure development at Hambantota on the southern tip of the island nation.
Dispelling the popular impression in India that China has got a lock on the development of Hambantota, the government of Sri Lanka is insisting that further development of this ambitious venture is open to all, and that Indian companies would be especially welcome.
The first phase of the Hambantota project, being built at a cost of US$1.5 billion, will cross a major milestone on Sunday when water-filling ceremony takes place. The port itself is slated to begin operations in November.
The Hambantota project is part of President Mahinda Rajapakses ambitious plan to restore Sri Lanka to its traditional role as a trading hub at the heart of the Indian Ocean and revitalise the nations economy torn apart by a prolonged civil war. Sri Lanka hopes that India will use its planned Consulate General in Hambantota to promote large scale Indian commercial engagement with Hambantota, which could absorb up to US$ 6 billion of investment.
Colombo, however, is keeping its fingers crossed on whether India, which missed the Hambantota opportunity a few years ago and left the field open to China, will move with greater purpose this time around.
Many of the projects that India already has in Sri Lanka, including the harbour development at Kankesanthurai in the northern part of the island, have been somewhat slow to get off the ground. When Rajapakse visited India in June, Delhi strongly reaffirmed its commitment to participate actively in the economic transformation of Sri Lanka.
In terms of the scale of assistance and planned projects in Sri Lanka, India is not too far behind China.Delhis main challenge lie in the speedy implementation of agreed plans. While most Indian projects are in the north, Hambantota offers an opportunity for Delhi to raise its profile in the southern part of the island.
Analysts in India and elsewhere have seen the Hambantota as part of a grand naval design in Beijing to build a series of port facilities, called the string of pearls across the Indian Ocean. Downplaying Indian fears of a potential Chinese maritime encirclement, Colombo has been at pains to explain the limited nature of Beijings involvement in Hambantota.
China has provided a loan of US$ 425 million for the project and a Chinese company has got the contract for construction of the port. But there is no role for China in the operation of the port, Priyath Wickrama, chairman of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority said last week.
One of the main attractions of the Hambantota port will be the bunkering operations that will service one of the worlds busiest East-West sea lanes between the oil rich Persian Gulf and the energy-hungry East Asia.
Sri Lanka hopes to draw at least 2500 of the nearly 70,000 ships that traverse the southern shores of the island every year to use in the first phase of the operations at Hambantota. Starting with the capacity of one million tonnes, the bunkering facilities at Hambantota could be expanded to four million tonnes. While Beijing has given a loan of US$ 77 million to finance bunkering operations, Colombo says the operations will be run by its national ports authority.
Colombo is negotiating with Beijing for a US$ 800 mn loan for the second phase of the project. It is also inviting investors from around the world to bid for a range of projects associated with port development. These include bulk cargo handling, storage facilities, warehouses, transshipment. About thirty companies, some of them Indian, have joined the bidding at Hambantota.
Lanka looks to India for Phase II of port China built
As it brings to close a sensitive port project in collaboration with China, Sri Lanka would like India to participate vigorously in the next phase of infrastructure development at Hambantota on the southern tip of the island nation.
Dispelling the popular impression in India that China has got a lock on the development of Hambantota, the government of Sri Lanka is insisting that further development of this ambitious venture is open to all, and that Indian companies would be especially welcome.
The first phase of the Hambantota project, being built at a cost of US$1.5 billion, will cross a major milestone on Sunday when water-filling ceremony takes place. The port itself is slated to begin operations in November.
The Hambantota project is part of President Mahinda Rajapakses ambitious plan to restore Sri Lanka to its traditional role as a trading hub at the heart of the Indian Ocean and revitalise the nations economy torn apart by a prolonged civil war. Sri Lanka hopes that India will use its planned Consulate General in Hambantota to promote large scale Indian commercial engagement with Hambantota, which could absorb up to US$ 6 billion of investment.
Colombo, however, is keeping its fingers crossed on whether India, which missed the Hambantota opportunity a few years ago and left the field open to China, will move with greater purpose this time around.
Many of the projects that India already has in Sri Lanka, including the harbour development at Kankesanthurai in the northern part of the island, have been somewhat slow to get off the ground. When Rajapakse visited India in June, Delhi strongly reaffirmed its commitment to participate actively in the economic transformation of Sri Lanka.
In terms of the scale of assistance and planned projects in Sri Lanka, India is not too far behind China.
Delhis main challenge lie in the speedy implementation of agreed plans. While most Indian projects are in the north, Hambantota offers an opportunity for Delhi to raise its profile in the southern part of the island.Analysts in India and elsewhere have seen the Hambantota as part of a grand naval design in Beijing to build a series of port facilities, called the string of pearls across the Indian Ocean. Downplaying Indian fears of a potential Chinese maritime encirclement, Colombo has been at pains to explain the limited nature of Beijings involvement in Hambantota.
China has provided a loan of US$ 425 million for the project and a Chinese company has got the contract for construction of the port. But there is no role for China in the operation of the port, Priyath Wickrama, chairman of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority said last week.
One of the main attractions of the Hambantota port will be the bunkering operations that will service one of the worlds busiest East-West sea lanes between the oil rich Persian Gulf and the energy-hungry East Asia.
Sri Lanka hopes to draw at least 2500 of the nearly 70,000 ships that traverse the southern shores of the island every year to use in the first phase of the operations at Hambantota. Starting with the capacity of one million tonnes, the bunkering facilities at Hambantota could be expanded to four million tonnes. While Beijing has given a loan of US$ 77 million to finance bunkering operations, Colombo says the operations will be run by its national ports authority.
Colombo is negotiating with Beijing for a US$ 800 mn loan for the second phase of the project. It is also inviting investors from around the world to bid for a range of projects associated with port development. These include bulk cargo handling, storage facilities, warehouses, transshipment. About thirty companies, some of them Indian, have joined the bidding at Hambantota.
Lanka looks to India for Phase II of port China built
