Business
Cement raw material shipments kick off Hambantota Port operations 2022
Hambantota International Port (HIP) had a robust start to the new year, with 6 supply cargo ships at the port in January 2022, discharging raw materials for the cement industry. The consignees were Lanwa Sanstha Cement Corporation (Pvt) Ltd., and INSEE Cement, leading cement manufacturers operating in the Southern part of the country. Both companies entered into strategic partnerships with HIP in the latter part of 2021, to increase their supply chain efficiency. HIP handled a total volume of 265,163.34 MTs of cement raw material for the 2 manufacturers in January this year.
Vessels Tang Binh 245, Unity and Dubai Crown carried shipments of clinker, gypsum and slag for Lanwa Sanstha Cement. These were the first ships calling at the port with raw material for Lanwa Sanstha Cement, following the signing of the agreement with HIP last year to establish a covered conveyor belt and two ship unloaders within the port premises. The facility which is currently under construction, will deliver raw material consignments directly to their manufacturing plant at the Mirijjawila BOI zone.
“Two major cement manufacturers, INSEE and Lanwa are currently working with HIP. While HIP is developing and offering services as a multipurpose port it is also supporting industries and enabling the development of adjacent areas. As much as HIP will see a considerable increase in our bulk volumes, with the commencement of the Lanwa factory, we expect Lanwa Sanstha Cement to have a significant advantage through the logistical arrangements of our port operations,” says Johnson Liu, CEO of HIPG.
Thusith Gunawarnasuriya, CEO of Lanwa Sanstha Cement says their plant, which will be the first of its kind using cutting edge European technology, will soon commence operations. “We will commence manufacturing during the first quarter of this year and optimise production to meet market demand. We are very happy with our collaboration with Hambantota International Port, and the handling of our first three cargo ships for the year carrying raw material for our manufacturing process went smoothly. The port crew was efficient and worked with remarkable speed, which is of great value to us,” he said.
There were 3 consignments of clinker and slag for INSEE Cement also in January. INSEE who has worked with HIP since 2018 was the port’s first customer for dry bulk cargo, enabling the port to handle a volume of over 1 million metric tonnes for them last year.
The Hambantota International Port expects their partnerships with the two cement manufacturers to strengthen their supply chains and productivity, enabling them to meet the high demand for cement in the construction industry. HIP, which is on a steady track to becoming a fully functional multi-purpose port, with continuous testing of its systems for optimum efficiency, is now delivering productivity levels setting benchmarks in the region.