Night navigation would be introduced for the first time to the Trincomalee harbour from next April.
An official from the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLAP) said this would make the Trincomalee harbour operational 24 hours.
The Trincomalee harbour would introduce new ‘buoys’ system to make night navigation possible. These ‘buoys’ would be powered by solar energy. In addition new Vessel Tracking Rader system would be introduced.
Currently Trincomalee harbour is mostly used by Lanka IOC, Prima Lanka and cement manufactures. General cargo movement is not in large numbers as yet. Trincomalee harbour also saw three Cruise ships calling on the harbour.
“With the introduction of Night Navigation more ships are expected to call over to the harbour and thereby increase the revenue.”
The Trincomalee harbour is also to be developed with assistance from a Dutch company. In addition Trincomalee, will become Sri Lanka’s ‘Eastern Gateway’ and will be remodeled as a hub for tourism, exports and logistics. This was spelled out by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe under a master plan for the district done by Singapore’s urban planning firm Surbana Jurong Consultants Pte Ltd.
Under this project, Trincomalee will be developed as the main export center for the Bay of Bengal region with eco-friendly industrial zones, agricultural zones and tourism. Highways, transport, education, health and other facilities are planned to be built and it is envisaged to generate more than a million new jobs.
Surbana Jurong in June 2016 signed a MoU with the Government of Sri Lanka to develop 1,363 sq km of Trincomalee Metro Area to become a resilient economic hub in Sri Lanka and the preparations of the grand expansion plan was initiated in November 2016.
The Trincomalee harbour is one of the largest natural harbours in the world and currently over 200 are employed.
Meanwhile a SLPA official also said that they are looking at introducing night navigation to the Galle harbor, towards the end of 2019.
Galle Port, is expected to be developed as a leisure facility over two phases. The first phase entails construction of a yacht marina for tourists drawn in by the region’s coral reefs, tropical rainforests and white sand beaches.
The first phase includes construction of berthing facilities for 22 15-metre-long yachts at a southern breakwater area, a service and repair facility, duty free shop, café and clubhouse, and tourism information centre.
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