The Hambantota Port (HIP) has announced 2022 to be the ‘Year of Construction,’ with various projects in the Port’s Industrial Park now underway. HIP is putting all of its efforts into getting the projects off the ground so that the park’s first phase can open by the end of the year.
“The Port’s ‘HIP Speed’ high-speed productivity model is helping to accelerate all parts of the three major projects now under construction. The luxury yacht building plant, the plug-and-play park-in-park facility, and the tyre manufacturing plant, which broke ground at a record speed with the port’s assistance, contribute a total worth of US $ 373 million in foreign direct investments to the country,” they stated.
“Our attention over these 12 months would be primarily on the construction of phase one of the port’s industrial park and allied sectors,” stated Johnson Liu, CEO of Hambantota International Port Group (HIPG) and the architect of HIP Speed. New projects will emerge, but we feel that right now, a greater focus should be placed on laying the groundwork for this multipurpose port. Unlike any other port in Sri Lanka, HIP contains an industrial park, which we will heavily promote in our marketing and brand positioning in order to attract additional investment to our park and other regions of the Hambantota district. Our goal is to establish HIP, as well as the southern part of Sri Lanka, as a destination for light, multi-purpose, and heavy industry investments.”
According to HIPG, it is critical to expedite the construction of these plants because it will not only help to bring already-signed-up projects to fruition on the ground, but it will also serve to generate momentum for additional investment in the industrial park. According to the Port Investment Services Division, this will serve as a catalyst for attracting new foreign direct investments into the country. In addition to the ongoing initiatives, the port has inked 40 sublease agreements for the Hambantota Maritime Centre and the Industrial Park. HIP Speed will assist in the approval process. The industrial park operates in concert with other port operations, such as the container yard, which is critical for enterprises’ import and export needs.
The projects that are currently in construction include the US$ 58 million state-of-the-art yacht building facility, by SeaHorse Yachts (Pvt) Ltd., which will complete land levelling this April, and begin construction by mid 2022. The US$ 15 million plug and play park-in-park facility by Shenzhen Xinji Group, is currently at foundation level. Once completed, it will attract light industry manufacturers and traders who would set up in Sri Lanka with a view to discovering new markets in South Asia. The US$ 300 million tire manufacturing plant by Shandong Haohua Tire Co. Ltd, has completed levelling work and will commence construction between the second and third quarters of this year. The plant, which will be built in 2 phases, has an annual production commitment of 20,000 container units.
