Port Overview

Port of Hambantota also known as Magampura Mahinda Rajapaksha Port is situated in a strategic location on maritime gateway to India. It was nationalized in 2010 to capture the business opportunities of providing services like supply of fuel, water, crew change in addition to the usual port operations for the ships passing Sri Lanka daily. Port of Hambantota is completely operated by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority with 5 terminals, in which 3 are in progress while other 2 are still under construction.

 Port website: http://www.hipg.lk/

Key port information may also be found at: http://www.maritime-database.com

Description and Contacts of Key Companies

Hambantota International Port is managed by the Hambantota International Ports Group (Pvt) Ltd. It is a group created between Sri Lanka Ports Authority and China Merchants Port Holdings Company Limited (CM Port). In addition, security is provided by Sri Lanka Navy and stevedoring is done by Premier Shipping (Pvt) Ltd.

For more information on port contacts, please see the following link: 4.4 Port and Waterways Companies Contact List.

Discharge Rates and Terminal Handling Charges

For information on port rates and charges, please see the following link: https://portcom.slpa.lk/Tariff/Tariff%20-%202015.pdf 

Berthing Specifications

More information at: http://www.hipg.lk/berth-layout/

Hambantota port consist of 13 berths.

General Cargo Handling Berths

Port Handling Equipment

Hambantota International Ports Group (Pvt) Ltd manages the port handling equipment. Two Ship to Shore cranes have been installed at the phase I general purpose berth. Both the cranes are of 50 MT Capacity. Further one number of Rubber Tyred Gantry with a capacity of 41 MT cranes have also been installed in order to service the same berth.

Container Facilities

Port of Hambantota consist of good container facilities and is growing faster each year.

Customs Guidance

Sri Lanka customs headquarters is located at a walking distance from the port of Colombo. The customs administration is a department coming under the Ministry of Finance and Mass Media. The main activities of the customs at the port are collection of revenue, prevention of revenue leakages and other frauds, facilitation of legitimate trade, collection of import and export data to provide statistics and cooperation and coordination with other Government Departments and stakeholders in respect of imports and exports. Before exporting a good custom declaration document should be submitted along with other documents. (Information regarding the documents needed is available at: http://www.customs.gov.lk/exports/support_doc). The cusdec is an important document which should be produced to the customs. It is a document based on the internationally recognized Single Administrative Document (SAD).

For more information on customs in Sri Lanka, please see the following link: 1.3 Customs Information. 

Terminal Information

Multipurpose Terminal

Hambantota airport consist of 2 general purpose terminals and 3 multipurpose terminals which can be used for Ro-Ro ships.

Grain and Bulk Handling

n/a

Main Storage Terminal

The port has storage facilities for diesel, Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG), slop oil, water and foam. The port is equipped with fixed roof tanks (5 X 1000m³, 3 X 3000m³ and 3 X 5000m³), spherical tanks (3 X 2000m³), horizontal tanks and drinking water tower.

Stevedoring

Stevedoring facilities are provided by the Premier Shipping (Pvt) Ltd which is a private company. The services provided are freight forwarding, chartering, ship bunkering, bunkering, offshore management, supply of stores and provisions and acting as a shipping agent.

Hinterland Information

Port of Hambantota is planned to connect to the southern expressway for the easy distribution of containers. Also the Mattala International Airport is the closest airport available. Port of Hambantota up to now operates 11 Ha of land adjacent to the phase I general purpose terminal as dedicated Ro-Ro cargo yard. The finishes are of varied type and they were constructed in a short timeframe to cater to the significant increase of Ro-Ro operations. Under the phase II of the development project an additional 25 Ha of heavy-duty yards have been developed adjacent to the multipurpose terminal to cater for the expected container and other cargo operations.

Port Security

Security of the port is under the Sri Lankan navy. The company has also installed CCTV systems to increase security in the port especially to ensure the safety of valuable cargo such as vehicles that are being handled at the Hambantota port. The secure systems in place, have brought down pilferage to zero and a system to lodge formal complaints in the event of any missing items or parts in vehicles has also been implemented. In the case of missing items, the company has established a compensation scheme against losses, provided there is actual proof that items are missing.