Sri Lanka’s China-backed Hambanota port gets STS cranes for bulk cargo

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s China-backed Hambantota International Port said it had taken delivery of two ship to shore (STS) cranes which will be used for bulk cargo operations.

“The new cranes will hugely increase vessel turnaround times which will have a highly desirable impact on our productivity,” Chief Operating Officer of Hambantota International Port Group (HIPG) Tissa Wickramasinghe said in a statement.

” The Port began handling bulk cargo in 2018, after the Hambantota International Port Group (HIPG) took over.

“We have achieved record highs in volumes since then and this new addition will help us to further improve our operations efficiency. We will be able to almost double our productivity levels, with the new cranes.”

Each crane has a 27 metre outreach and can handle 600 tonnes per hour, with a lifting speed of 120 metres per minute.

The two Chinese-made STS cranes will be installed at the number six berth at Hambantota port.

The fully assembled shore cranes were shipped by barge from the Port of Zhenjiang in China to Hambantota in a six week journey.

The will be used for the discharge of bulk raw materials for the Lanwa Cement Factory and will move clinker, gypsum and slag cargoes.

The material will be transferred from ship to a dedusting hopper via the cranes, and then taken to a conveyor belt leading to the factory located to an industrial zone in Mirijjawila, two kilometers away from the port.