The Magampura Mahinda Rajapaksha Port is situated in the vicinity of the key shipping route between the Malacca and the Suez Canal. This world’s busiest shipping lane – The East-West shipping route, passes six to ten nautical miles (19 km) south of this port linking Asia and Europe. A vast area of land is also available for port related development activities and is in close proximity to the Saraii Village which is a popular eco lodge Sri Lanka.
The first phase of the port was opened on 18 November 2010 and it consists of two 600m general purpose berths, a 310m bunkering berth and a 120m small craft berth, bunkering facility and tank farm include 8 tanks for marine fuel, 3 tanks containing aviation fuel and 3 for Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) and a 15 floor administrative complex.
The mouth of the harbor is 22m deep, when completed; the port will have a 1.5 km long breakwater, with a minimum basin depth of 17m. The turning circle will be 600m. A dam will also be built to prevent flooding in nearby areas, and a seawall made of interlocking concrete blocks will protect the port from high seas.
First phase of the port project provides bunkering, ship repair, ship building, ship chandelling and crew change facilities. Later phases will raise capacity of the port up to 20 million TEUs per year. When completed, the port will be the biggest port constructed on land to date in the 21st century.
A $550 million tax-free port zone is being set up outside the port, with local and international companies expressing interest in setting up shipbuilding, ship-repair, warehousing and manufacturing facilities in this zone.
Thus, Magampura Mahinda Rajapaksha Port is destined to create indirect employment to over 50,000 people and business opportunities for many entrepreneurs.
Nigel Walters is a travel writer, who writes under the pen name, Fritzjames Stephen. His content is based on the myriad of experiences and indulgences that the world has to offer travellers across all walks of life. Google+
