Ports Minister Visits Hambantota International Port

Minister of Ports, Shipping and Aviation, Nimal Siripala De Silva visited the Hambantota International Port (HIP) over the weekend.  The minister met top port officials, Johnson Liu, CEO of Hambantota International Port Group (HIPG), CEO (CICT), Jack Huang, CFO Raymond Mu, COO, Tissa Wickramasinghe and CEO of Hambantota International Port Services (HIPS), Captain Ravi Jayawickreme who were present to brief him on current issues in the port and discuss future development especially in regards to attracting investors to Sri Lanka. Accompanying Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva was the Minister of Agriculture, Wildlife and Forest Resources Conservation, Mahinda Amaraweera.

The Hambantota International Port which is in its fifth year of operations has kicked off projects both on the short and medium-term. HIP is being developed as a multipurpose port and is currently engaged in transshipment of vehicles on the east-west sea route.  It is also a port of call for bunkering, energy services and raw materials used in cement manufacturing. Container handling will be next in line for HIP, which is being positioned as a gateway port for light and heavy industry manufacturing in the Hambantota district and adjacent areas.

The Minister was assured of HIPG’s commitment to the future export plans of Sri Lanka.  HIPG is focused on promoting the country’s strategic location along with the port’s state of the art facilities and high-quality service offering. 

Souvenirs were given to the two visiting ministers to mark the occasion. Seen from left to right Jack Huang; CEO(CICT), Mahinda Amaraweera; Minister of Agriculture, Wildlife and Forest Resources Conservation, Nimal Siripala De Silva; Minister of Ports, Shipping and Aviation, Johnson Liu; CEO (HIPG) and Raymond Mu; CFO (HIPG).

CEO of HIPG Johnson Liu accompanying the Ministers Nimal Siripala De Silva and Mahinda Amaraweera on a tour of the Hambantota Maritime Center.