Hambantota International Port

Hambantota International Port
Hambantota International Port
	The port in 2013
	Click on the map for a fullscreen view
Location
Country	Sri Lanka
Location	Hambantota
Coordinates	06°07′10″N 81°06′29″E / 6.11944°N 81.10806°E
UN/LOCODE	LKHBA
Details
Opened	November 18, 2010
Operated by	China Merchants Port, Sri Lanka Port Authority
No. of berths	3
Draft depth	17.0 m.
IATA	HBT
Statistics
	Website; www.slpa.lk

The Hambantota International Port^[a] is a deep water port in Hambantota, Sri Lanka, notable for its 99-year lease to China Merchant Ports. Opened in 2010, it is Sri Lanka's second largest port, after Colombo. In 2020, the port handled 1.8 million tonnes of cargo.^[3]

Construction of the port commenced in January 2008. In 2016, it reported an operating profit of $1.81 million but was considered economically unviable.^[4] As debt repayment got difficult, the newly-elected government decided to privatise an 80% stake of the port to raise foreign exchange in order to repay maturing sovereign bonds unrelated to the port.^[5]^[6] Of the two bidding companies, China Merchants Port was chosen,^[5] which was to pay $1.12 billion to Sri Lanka and spend additional amounts to develop the port into full operation.^[7]^[8]^[9]

In July 2017, the agreement was signed, but CMPort was allowed a 70% stake. Simultaneously a 99-year lease on the port was granted to CMPort.^[10]^[11]

As of May 2024, the port has transformed into a busy transshipment hub in the Indian Ocean, specifically for vehicles, facilitating a turnover of 700,000 units per month. Hambantota is poised to increase its involvement in the bunkering and oil refining industries, and it has the potential of becoming a significant hub for cruise activities.^[12]

^ "UNLOCODE (LK) - SRI LANKA". service.unece.org. Archived from the original on 12 October 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
^ "Port of Hambantota, Sri Lanka". www.findaport.com. Shipping Guides Ltd. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
^ Hambantota International Port Group (14 March 2021). "HIP achieves Highest Cargo Volumes during Pandemic" (Press release). Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
^ "Hambantota Port sale in perspective". Daily Mirror. 17 January 2017. Archived from the original on 3 July 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
^ ^a ^b Brautigam, Deborah (6 December 2019). "A critical look at Chinese 'debt-trap diplomacy': the rise of a meme". Area Development and Policy. 5 (1): 1–14. doi:10.1080/23792949.2019.1689828. ISSN 2379-2949. S2CID 214547742. Archived from the original on 1 July 2020. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
^ Cite error: The named reference Moramudali20200101 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ "Agreement signed with Chinese Merchants to develop H'tota Port on PPP Model". Daily Mirror. 9 December 2016. Archived from the original on 24 March 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
^ Marray, Michael (14 December 2016). "Sri Lanka plans to lease Hambantota Port to China". The Asset. Archived from the original on 23 December 2016. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
^ Fairclough, Gordon; Jayasinghe, Uditha (9 December 2016), "Sri Lanka Sells Port Holding to Beijing", Wall Street Journal, ProQuest 1847381102
^ "Sri Lanka signs deal on Hambantota port with China". BBC News. 29 July 2017. Archived from the original on 8 April 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
^ Carrai 2019, p. 1074: "According to the agreement, CMPort will lease the Hambantota Port for 99 years and invest up to US$1,120 million in the port, as well as other marine-related activities in connection to the port, for a total area of 15,000 acres of land."
^ "Sri Lanka's Hambantota port debunks Chinese debt trap narrative with success". 3 May 2024.

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

[Locode-1-1] "UNLOCODE (LK) - SRI LANKA". service.unece.org. Archived from the original on 12 October 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2020.

[fap-1-2] "Port of Hambantota, Sri Lanka". www.findaport.com. Shipping Guides Ltd. Retrieved 18 September 2020.

[SLPA20210314-4] Hambantota International Port Group (14 March 2021). "HIP achieves Highest Cargo Volumes during Pandemic" (Press release). Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 19 June 2021.

[5] "Hambantota Port sale in perspective". Daily Mirror. 17 January 2017. Archived from the original on 3 July 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2021.

[:3-6] Brautigam, Deborah (6 December 2019). "A critical look at Chinese 'debt-trap diplomacy': the rise of a meme". Area Development and Policy. 5 (1): 1–14. doi:10.1080/23792949.2019.1689828. ISSN 2379-2949. S2CID 214547742. Archived from the original on 1 July 2020. Retrieved 15 January 2021.

[Moramudali20200101-7] Cite error: The named reference Moramudali20200101 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[dailymirror.lk-8] "Agreement signed with Chinese Merchants to develop H'tota Port on PPP Model". Daily Mirror. 9 December 2016. Archived from the original on 24 March 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2016.

[Marray2016-9] Marray, Michael (14 December 2016). "Sri Lanka plans to lease Hambantota Port to China". The Asset. Archived from the original on 23 December 2016. Retrieved 23 December 2016.

[WSJ_2016-10] Fairclough, Gordon; Jayasinghe, Uditha (9 December 2016), "Sri Lanka Sells Port Holding to Beijing", Wall Street Journal, ProQuest 1847381102

[BBC_2017-11] "Sri Lanka signs deal on Hambantota port with China". BBC News. 29 July 2017. Archived from the original on 8 April 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2017.

[12] Carrai 2019, p. 1074: "According to the agreement, CMPort will lease the Hambantota Port for 99 years and invest up to US$1,120 million in the port, as well as other marine-related activities in connection to the port, for a total area of 15,000 acres of land."

[13] "Sri Lanka's Hambantota port debunks Chinese debt trap narrative with success". 3 May 2024.

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