This underdeveloped area was hit hard by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and is undergoing a number of major development projects including the construction of a new sea port and international airport finished in 2013.

[1] When the Kingdom of Ruhuna was established it received many travellers and traders from Siam, China and Indonesia who sought anchorage in the natural harbor at Godawaya, Ambalantota.

Historical evidence reveals that the region in that era had fertile fields and a stupendous irrigation network.

This region played a vital role in building the nation as well as nurturing the Sri Lankan Buddhist culture.

Close to Hambantota, the large temple of Tissamaharama was built to house a sacred tooth relic.

[3] Around the years of 1801 and 1803, the British built a Martello tower on the tip of the rocky headland alongside the lighthouse overlooking the sea at Hambantota.

The builder was a Captain Goper, who built the tower on the site of an earlier Dutch earthen fort.

The tower was restored in 1999, and in the past, formed part of an office of the Hambantota Kachcheri where the Land Registry branch was housed.

From 2 August to 9 September 1803, an Ensign J. Prendergast of the regiment of Ceylon native infantry was in command of the British colony at Hambantota during a Kandian attack that he was able to repel with the assistance of the snow ship Minerva.

[22] Wind energy development faces immense obstacles such as poor roads and an unstable power grid.

[25] When all phases are fully complete, it will be able to berth 33 vessels, which would make it the biggest port in South Asia.

[26] Bunkering facility: 14 tanks (8 for oil, 3 for aviation fuel and 3 for LP gas) with a total capacity of 80,000 m3 (2,800,000 cu ft).

[29] The involvement of Chinese companies in the development of Hambantota port have provoked claims by some analysts that it is part of China's String of Pearls strategy.

[30] In November 2019, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa indicated that the Sri Lankan government would try to undo the 99-year lease of the port and return to the original loan repayment schedule.

The MRICH, situated in a 28-acre plot of land in Siribopura, is Sri Lanka's second international conference hall.

[35] However, on 11 November it was officially announced that Australia's Gold Coast had won the rights to host the games.