A Chinese aided Liquefied Gas Terminal LPG at Sri Lanka's Hambantota Port is mechanically completed.

The Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) Terminal in the Hambantota Port in the southern tip of Sri Lanka constructed by a Chinese company has come to mechanical completion. The strategically situated port is now with the Chinese company on a Ninety Nine year old lease.

The LPG terminal in Sri Lanka's Hambantota is the largest of its kind in the Indian Ocean region with a total storage exceeding 60,000 cubic meters according to Chinese media reports.

The LPG terminal is invested by one of Sri Lanka's largest LPG distributors, LAUGFS, and constructed by China Huanqiu contracting & Engineering Co., LTD, subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corporation.

LAUGFS Chairman, W. K. H. Wagapitiya said that the LPG terminal in Hambantota would bring tremendous economic benefits to Sri Lanka, and make a difference in improving Sri Lankan people's livelihood.

Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Cheng Xueyuan also welcomed the completion of the project, saying it is another success in the China-Sri Lanka cooperation in the Hambantota area under China's Belt and Road Initiative.

In recent years, Sri Lanka and China have been strengthening cooperation in the island country's Hambantota area. The Sri Lanka Ports Authority and China Merchants Port Holdings last year signed an agreement to co-run the Hambantota Port.

In addition to the port, plans are also underway to develop an industrial zone close to the Hambantota Port premises. Chinese companies have strong presence in container terminals in the Colombo port as well. The companies have recently bagged huge dredging contracts in the Port.