(Source: "People's Pictorial" 2025-07-04)
Sri Lanka is located in the center of the Indian Ocean international routes. It has a unique golden geographical location and is known as the "Heart of the Indian Ocean". As one of the flagship projects of the high-quality Belt and Road Initiative between China and Sri Lanka, Hambantota Port in the Southern Province of Sri Lanka is less than 10 nautical miles away from the main international shipping route in the Indian Ocean, and has unparalleled geographical advantages and development prospects.
An important hub of Indian Ocean shipping lanes
The Hambantota Port is about 163 kilometers away from Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka, and is at an important node of the "21st Century Maritime Silk Road". The flow of people, logistics, capital, technology and information formed by the coordinated development of ports, parks and related industries has not only effectively promoted the economic prosperity of the backward areas in southern Sri Lanka, but also promoted the economic and social development of countries in the Indian Ocean region.
The construction and operation of Hambantota Port has gone through a difficult process. In 2005, Sri Lanka proposed the idea of building a world-class deep-water port in Hambantota. In October 2007, the construction of the Hambantota Port project started with the assistance of China. The first phase of the port project was completed and began operation in June 2012. The second phase of the project was also completed as planned in April 2015. However, due to poor management and the combined impact of complex factors such as rapid changes in the international market environment, the Hambantota Port project, operated by a management company affiliated with the Sri Lanka Ports Authority, suffered huge losses, with a cumulative loss of approximately US$304 million from 2012 to 2016. The decision-making and construction of the Hambantota Port project has therefore been questioned and opposed.
China and Sri Lanka’s high-quality joint construction of the “Belt and Road Initiative” has brought about a turning point for Hambantota Port. On July 29, 2017, China Merchants Port Holdings Co., Ltd. and the Sri Lankan government signed a concession agreement for the Hambantota Port and established two joint ventures, Hambantota International Port Group Co., Ltd. and Hambantota International Port Services Co., Ltd., to be responsible for the commercial management operations and administrative management operations of the Hambantota Port. China Merchants Port Holdings Co., Ltd. holds 85% and 49.3% of the shares in these two companies respectively, and the Sri Lanka Port Authority holds 15% and 50.7% respectively. The concession agreement is valid for 99 years. In June 2018, the final payment for the equity transfer of the Hambantota Port project was completed, and the project handover was completed. Hambantota Port has entered a new stage of development.
Building a world-class comprehensive port around the "six major centers"
The Hambantota Port has received great attention from the leaders of China and Sri Lanka and has been positioned as a flagship project of the high-quality joint construction of the “Belt and Road” between China and Sri Lanka. The relevant content was included in the joint statement issued by the Chinese and Sri Lankan governments. China Merchants Port Holdings Co., Ltd. has positioned Hambantota Port as a "century-old port and comprehensive port" and decided to use three years to promote project construction on a rolling basis to build Hambantota Port into a logistics center and industrial base in Sri Lanka and the Indian Ocean region that integrates an energy service center, a regional container transfer center, a ro-ro transfer center, a bulk cargo distribution center, a maritime service center, and a port-facing industry gathering center.
To promote the construction of the "Six Major Centers", the first step is to build a South Asia energy service center. In December 2023, Sinopec successfully won the bid for the Hambantota large-scale oil refining development project in Sri Lanka with a total investment of US$3.7 billion through participating in international bidding. This project is the largest foreign investment project obtained by Sri Lanka after independence. The initial planned annual refining capacity is 10 million tons. After it is put into operation, the total annual throughput will be approximately 19 million tons, completely reversing Sri Lanka's complete reliance on imported fuel. The Hambantota oil refining project will drive the port to build a large crude oil berth, renovate two existing 100,000-ton berths, and build a large number of supporting facilities. In the long term, it will basically form an upstream and downstream petrochemical industry chain and promote the implementation of new energy business.
The second is to build a regional container transfer center. In April 2024, Hambantota Port cooperated with world-renowned shipping companies to launch container business, forming an operating capacity of 1 million TEU/year. In the future, it is planned to promote the use of tire-type container gantry cranes to increase the port's container throughput capacity to 3 million TEUs/year. We will also deepen cooperation with world-renowned shipping companies to build new storage yards on the basis of expanded routes, attract other shipping companies to open routes, expand the customer base of the industrial park, and build supporting container terminals for deconsolidation and other projects.
The third is to build a South Asia ro-ro transfer center. In 2023, Hambantota Port's ro-ro vehicle throughput will exceed 700,000 vehicles. At present, the port has completed the construction of the first phase of the new automobile yard of 68,000 square meters and started the construction of the second phase of the 100,000 square meter project. It has cooperated with multiple suppliers and industry chambers of commerce to promote the formation of a value-added automobile industry chain, tap potential markets for exporting automobiles in China and the Far East, and develop the local automobile import market. Actively improve port ro-ro efficiency and service quality, provide value-added services such as maintenance, modification and refurbishment for automobiles, extend the automobile industry chain, increase service stickiness and further enhance competitiveness.
The fourth is to build a bulk cargo distribution center in Sri Lanka. Today, Hambantota Port is seizing the historic opportunity of the recovery of Sri Lanka's economy and construction industry to promote the import of cement clinker. Its market share of bulk cargo in Sri Lanka has reached 25%. In the future, we will strive to realize the import and distribution of chemical fertilizers, and develop related supporting warehousing business models and investment and construction plans for bulk cargo transfer business. Actively cooperate with Sinopec refinery project construction supporting materials and large-scale services, promote steel import business, improve the efficiency and service of bulk cargo types, and become the most important bulk cargo distribution center in Sri Lanka.
The fifth is to build a South Asia maritime service center. As the largest and most convenient logistics supply station for ships on the main international shipping channel of the Indian Ocean, Hambantota Port has vigorously attracted cruise ships to dock. The number of cruise ships and tourists has increased significantly, and the ship refueling (anchorage and in-port) business has increased significantly. Hambantota Port has also signed a contract with the Colombo Shipyard to build a Hambantota Port ship maintenance base to promote ship supply, supply, voyage repair, maritime security and other services at Hambantota Port. In the future, we will continue to strengthen comprehensive cooperation with local institutions in Sri Lanka, introduce more maritime service formats, and actively introduce cooperation in ship supply and logistics chain management. At the same time, we will cooperate with local training institutions to expand maritime training and education services.
The sixth is to build a port-side industrial gathering center. As of the end of 2024, 53 companies have settled in the Hambantota Port Industrial Park, and second-phase projects such as flour mills, yachts, and electronics industrial parks have also been launched to carry out investment cooperation. In the future, we will increase infrastructure construction such as water supply, electricity supply and road paving projects in the park, accelerate the construction of mature land in the port area, and increase the land value. The Hambantota Port Park will also rely on the settlement of key projects to promote and attract investment for high value-added projects in the upstream and downstream industrial chains such as petrochemicals, biofuels, and automobiles, and build Hambantota Port into an industrial cluster in Sri Lanka.
As of 2024, the business scope of Hambantota Port has covered many aspects such as ro-ro vehicles, bulk cargo, containers, oil and gas, cruise ships, maritime services and park business. While attracting investment for its own park, it proposed the concept of "four sharings", that is, sharing terminal resources, sharing facilities and equipment, sharing park resources, and sharing overall planning, in order to achieve mutual benefit and win-win results with industry partners.
Promote "people-to-people connectivity" and build a China-Sri Lanka community with a shared future
Today, Hambantota Port’s port throughput, cruise berthing and ship refueling numbers have hit new highs, equipment is constantly updated, container business continues to grow, and the Lingang Industrial Park continues to expand, driving the local historic transformation from a small fishing village to a modern emerging industrial zone. It not only attracts companies from various countries to settle in, creates new jobs, but also optimizes Sri Lanka's industrial structure. From 2017 to now, the compound growth rate of port throughput has exceeded 50%, laying a good foundation for building Sri Lanka into an important maritime center in the world.
Hambantota Port has always adhered to international management and localized operation models, employing a large number of local employees and enabling local executives to participate in operations and management. Currently, Han Port provides 1,053 direct jobs and 5,000 indirect jobs, with the proportion of local employees exceeding 98%. With the continuous expansion of port and park business, the demand for local labor will increase significantly in the future.
Hambantota Port attaches great importance to caring for local employees. It has purchased health insurance for all employees and organized physical examinations for employees, with a coverage rate of 96%. During the economic crisis in Sri Lanka, relief food bags were distributed to more than 1,000 local employees on four occasions. When Sri Lankan gas stations ran out of gas, 11,800 liters of affordable gasoline and 293 liters of affordable diesel were provided for employees' vehicles commuting to and from get off work. Hambantota Port has also established an "Employee Special Care Fund" to provide assistance to employees with special difficulties. We have developed a complete employee training program for local employees to improve their business capabilities through teacher training, simulation exercises, and practical operations. In 2021, it won the "Best Employer Award" from the Employer Brand Institute and the World Federation of Human Resources Professionals. Hambantota Port actively promotes people-to-people connectivity, vigorously promotes environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) special work, and takes the initiative to assume social responsibilities. Since 2018, the Hambantota Port United Investment Charity Fund has launched 65 ESG projects covering environmental protection, corporate social responsibility and other categories in Sri Lanka, with a total investment of approximately US$1.26 million. The "Silk Road Love Village" project launched by it focuses on crop trading, education, medical and health care in surrounding communities, assisting communities in exporting products, and promoting the development of industrial chains, exploring a replicable and sustainable development path out of poverty for local people, and also forming a harmonious atmosphere of positive interaction with people in surrounding communities. More than US$300,000 was invested to help villagers build greenhouses for vegetables, bringing a real sense of gain to surrounding residents and establishing a good image of Hambantota Port in the hearts of local people. In addition, Hambantota Port also invested in the establishment of the "Human-Elephant Peace" Fund and cooperated with the Sri Lanka Wildlife Conservation Authority to "save baby elephants", reducing human-elephant conflicts in Tamannawa Village surrounding Hambantota Port by 90%.
As a landmark cooperation project in the joint construction of the “Belt and Road”, Hambantota Port plays an exemplary role in building a community of shared future between China and Sri Lanka. Hambantota Port became the first port enterprise in Sri Lanka to obtain quality, environment, occupational health and safety (ISO-IMS) certification; it won the "Best Multifunctional Port" and "Port Infrastructure Development" awards from the Global Ports Forum in 2022; it won the Maritime Standards Corporate Social Responsibility Award for two consecutive years in 2022 and 2023, and was the first Sri Lankan enterprise to win this award. As of the end of 2024, the Hambantota Port project has paid nearly US$800,000 in annual fees and franchise fees to the Sri Lankan government, and has collected more than US$3.75 million in various taxes. It has become an important pivot to expand the export of Sri Lankan tea, fruits, cinnamon, aquatic products and other specialty products to China, and has made an important contribution to promoting economic and w88 relations between Sri Lanka and China. Local enterprises in Sri Lanka are also very optimistic about the development of Hambantota Port and have increased investment in Hambantota Port, forming a win-win situation. Today, Hambantota Port has become a model of high-quality cooperation in building the “Belt and Road”, telling the world a new story of win-win Silk Road development.
This article is a phased research result of the 2024 National Social Science Fund project "Research on Method Innovation and Effectiveness Evaluation of Xi Jinping's Economic Thought into Textbooks, Classrooms and Minds" (Project Approval No. 24VSZ006)
Wang Zhimin: Researcher at the National Institute of Opening-up at the w88 casino, Director of the Institute of Globalization and Chinese Modernization
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