The new Oluvil Port Development project constructed at a cost of Rs. 7000 million will be vested in the public by President Mahinda Rajapaksa on September 1st. Construction of the Oluvil Commercial Harbour and the Fishing Harbour was commenced in 2008 under the Neganahira Navodaya programme.
The Danish construction company MT HØjgaard has completed the construction of the commercial and fishing port in two phases. 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. The completion of the harbour is expected to boost economic infrastructure activities in the Eastern Province.
This port will form the southeastern link in the developing chain of coastal harbours in the country and will provide more convenient and cost effective access to and from the southeastern region for goods and cargo originating on the west coast
Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) and the Danish construction company signed the Oluvil Port Project agreement to build the new harbor in Oluvil in March 2008 at a cost of Euro 46 million with the financial assistance from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark (DANIDA).
The commercial port comprises 330 meters of quay with a water depth of 8 meters, and the fishing port comprises 200 meters of quay with a water depth of 3 meters, according to the company.
The 1,500 meter breakwater has been constructed from one million tons of stone, which was blasted in the stone quarry. The Danish company has also constructed everything needed for the port to operate including access roads to and from the port, residential buildings, warehouses, office facilities, refrigerated warehouses and service buildings on land. They has also established a 4.2 kilometer sea wall around the harbor.
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Press Release, August 30, 2013