Sri Lanka is well known for exporting precious stones,elephants,spices and many other export items since the time of ancient kings. the exporting and importing process was much easier because Sri Lnka is situated in a key shipping rout which connects Asia and Europe. But untill the establishment of port hambanthota, port Colombo was the only international port situated in sri lanka. Unfortunately the Colombo port was not capable of attracting the huge fleet of ships passes by the Sri lanka because of the lack of industry related services and facilities. Thus, it was proposed to built a new harbor to attract estimated 36,000 ships,including 4,500 oil tankers used to navigate through the international shipping routs close to Sri Lnka. The port Hambanthota was the ultimate result of this proposal to develop the port industry of the country. Construction project of port Hambantota was a very massive project which was a challenge to Sri Lanka, at the same time it was very cost intensive too. It should be especially mentioned thathe port could not be successfully developed without the help of China. The total cost of the first phase of the project is estimated at $360 million, including $76.5 million for the bunker terminal, 85% of the funding is provided by the Chinese Government and the remaining 15% by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority. The Hambanthota harbor was built with all the port facilities,including a luxurious service to compete with the global marine industry. Initially set to open in the first half of 2011, five months ahead of schedule.The first phase of the project was completed by November 2010.a,on January 15,2008.The first phase of the Port of Hambantota will consist of two 600m general purpose berths, a 310m bunkering berth and a 120m small craft berth. It will also contain a bunkering facility and tank farm which will include 8 tanks for marine fuel, 3 tanks containing aviation fuel and 3 for Lequid Petrolium Gas (LPG). A 15 floor administrative complex will also be constructed as part of the project. According to the anticipated development of the port Hambanthota, attracting tanker ships is a strongly considered. Thus maximum space and facilities are provided for tankers, thus they can enjoy the same services they receive from a well established top class port. The mouth of the natural harbor at Hambantota has a 22m depth. When completed, the port will have a 1.5 km long breakwater, with a minimum basin depth of 17m. This is compared to the 15.5m depth of the Port of Colombo. The depth, in marine terms,the draft is a one of the main impedance factors for attracting big ships to Colombo port. Since their draft is higher than the depth of the Colombo port these huge ships are not able to enter th port. But with the competitive draft of port Hambantota it has overcome the issue. The turning circle will be 600m. A dam will also be built to prevent flooding in nearby areas, and a seawall made of interlocking concrete blocks will protect the port from high seas. It is very important in ensuring the safety of the port. China, Korea and Japan are some of the highest oil consuming nations in the world.With Crude oil from the Gulf and 4,500 tankers will sail each year on the same route. Singapore is among the best three Ports in the World with over 5,000 ship companies. This caters to 4,500 oil tankers from Dubai and over 100,000 other vessels that anchor in Singapore. These large ships, however, had to do a de route of three-and-a-half days to Singapore and also to India, Thailand, and Malaysian harbours for refuelling, buying provisions medical supplies and other essentials. However, the Colombo Port due to its location and limited capacity was never capable of attracting those tankers and other ships which sail close to Sri Lanka. When the Hambantota Port is completed ships could save nearly three days sailing of time, fuel and enjoy numerous benefits by anchoring at Hambantota. It is envisaged that many of the 4,500 oil tankers would anchor in Hambantota for bunkering, ship repairing, and to purchase food, water and medical supplies and logistics. It is expected that at least 20 percent of the shipping traffic mainly the oil tankers would call over at the Hambantota Port. One of the biggest advantages of the Port site is the 22 metre depth to the mouth of the harbour, a unique geographical feature which even the Indian Ports could not match. The Hambantota port development project is accompanied by several supporting projects to develop the backup facilities and the development of the hinterland too. A cement grinding and bagging plant would be set up along with fertiliser bagging plants.Warehousing and offshore services too would create wealth to the area. The operation of an LP gas terminal for the first time in the country would create two tiers of pricing with the Southerners expected to receive LP gas at reduced prices due to low taxes and overheads.The bunkering facility and the Tank Farm project too have commenced bringing more benefits to the country. The bunkering facility will comprise 14 tanks. Eight tanks will be used to provide oil for ships and aviation fuel while three will be used to store LP gas. A $550 million tax free zone is being set up outside the port, with local and international companies expressing interest in setting up shipbuilding, ship-repair and warehousing facilities in the zone. It is expected to be completed by November 2010.The finished project is expected to provide indirect employment to over 50,000 people. A tax free zone will be another point to get the eyes of investors on port Hambantota. Newly created job opportunities will agglomerate a new population,proportionally the down town and the whole region will become urbanized and developed. In a few years the Hambantota district per capita income is expected to be on par with the districts in the Western Province, which would be an achievement. The second phase of the Port of Hambantota project, which will include a container terminal, is expected to be completed by 2014. The second stage of the port is estimated to cost around US$ 750 million.The third phase will include a dock yard.Upon completion, the port will cover 4,000 acres (16 km2) of land and accommodate 33 vessels at any given time, making it the largest port in South Asia. Hambantota Port also holds several unique world achievements which Sri Lanka can be proud of.The Port would be the world’s biggest harbour constructed on land in this century. When completed the Hambantota harbour on 4,000 areas of land could accommodate 33 vessels to berth at any given time after completion.. The proposed 15-storey administrative complex for the Port which could even withstand a tsunami would also be one of the best designed shipping structures in the SAARC region. As long as the development is a change to the prevailing conditions, Hambantota development project too have negative impacts on country. One of the main disadvantages are that,the port is build on land. Since Sri Lanka is a small island with a little land mass,one can question whether it is wise to turn a considerable land mass of the country in to sea. The loss of land resulted in recreating the the map of Sri Lanka. On the other hand Hambanthota province was an underdeveloped area of the country before the launch of Hambantota project. It was left untouched by the development hazards, but now a huge environmental pollution can be observed in Hambantota due to the development. We need to have more sustainable development plans to avoid this problem. Another issue is,whether we can achieve the anticipated prosperity in port Hambantota so easily. It wouldn't be easy to compete with well reputed ports like Singapore or Colombo. At the same time,since all the port facilities are gathered around port Colombo and the Colombo commercial city will it be practical to shift the system to Hambanthota,which is still a sub urb? Cumulatively many negative impacts will be there and the success of the hambantota port is becoming a big challenge for Sri Lankans.