Dredging Allows Oluvil Port to Dock Bigger Ships (Sri Lanka)

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa said development goals cannot be achieved by opening old wounds or by digging for dirt.

The President was addressing the gathering after commissioning the newly constructed Oluvil commercial port and fisheries harbour and ice manufacturing plant yesterday.

The harbour project was constructed at a cost of Rs.7,000 million.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa further added that the newly constructed Oluvil harbour is the Eastern link of the development chain of the government.

This can be considered as the largest development project to be undertaken in the Eastern Province.

Due to this mega construction, the province will actively participate in the national development process.

The construction of the Oluvil commercial harbour and the fishing harbour commenced on June 20, 2008 under the Neganahira Navodaya development program of the government.

The completion of the harbour is expected to boost economic infrastructure activities especially in the Eastern Province.

The Oluvil Port consists of two sections, a commercial harbour and small craft harbour (fishery harbour). The commercial port has a 330 metre quay with a water depth of 8 metres, while the fishing port comprises 200 metres of quay with a water depth of three metres.

The construction of the commercial and fishing port, which consists of two phases has been completed by a Danish construction company.

During the first phase, two breakwaters were constructed and during the second phase, dredging was undertaken to enable the port to handle vessels of up to 16,000 tons.

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Press Release, September 16, 2013