Norwegian Undergraduates on Study tour at Hambantota International Port

HIP team with the visiting University of Agder students 

The undergraduates observe the various processes of Hambantota International Port

Twenty-five undergraduates from the University of Agder, Norway, who were on a tour for their Bachelor’s program in Development Studies, visited the Hambantota International Port. 

The tour objectives were to learn about the wide variety of development issues in practice and challenges in terms of Sri Lanka’s development. 
The undergraduates were taken through the various processes of Hambantota International Port and informed about its strategic value, future expansion plans, and current and future investment projects. They were given an overview of the port’s engineering and technology management, green initiatives, and commitment to reducing greenhouse gases. The delegation was also given an overview of Sri Lanka’s port development and infrastructure, and the Colombo port, along with HIP and its overall contribution to the Sri Lankan economy. The visit concluded with a tour of the port. 
Hambantota International Port Group (HIPG) Chief Operating Officer Tissa Wickramasinghe said: “We welcome the growing professional interest in Hambantota International Port amongst youth groups and are open to taking them through our development plans, which extends to the hinterland economy. We are also involved in promoting industries, both upstream and downstream, in areas adjacent to the port, extending to the Hambantota district. HIP sits 10 nautical miles from the east-west trade routes where bulk and containerised cargo are being shipped between regions.” 
“For ships plying the east-west route, HIP is ideally located, midway between Singapore and Fujairah, which supply over 60 million tons of fuel per year. These are reasons for our port becoming more and more of an interest, both from an academic and a commercial perspective,” he added.
The Norwegian undergrads were told that HIP’s development is also closely linked with local communities where a range of activities have already been carried out including a waste management/recycling plant, tree planting for a greener environment, rebuilding a derelict state-owned school in the Hambantota District’s Weerawila area, establishing a wholly equipped PCR testing facility at the Hambantota General Hospital, launching the first Hope Village and initiating the Human Elephant Peace fund to bring about a solution to local issues in the district.
The Bachelor’s program in Global Development Studies at the University of Agder explores the critical issues and challenges in the development of the 21st century and the complex interconnections of culture, globalisation, migration, international and national power structures, economic interests, resource control and management.