Constructions of Sri Lanka's first Safari Park at Ridiyagama in Hambantota will be completed soon and the park will be opened to the public in October this year.

The construction work at the first Safari Park in the island started in 2008 under the direction of The National Zoological Department. The park covers an expanse of about 500 acres.

Four of the park's six zones will be reserved for carnivorous animals while the remaining two zones will be set apart for the herbivores. Two zones of the carnivore section will be exclusively reserved for the dangerous animals such as lions, tigers, and leopards.

Work on several sectors has already been completed, the government media said. Among the completed sections are a veterinary hospital, the internal and external paved road network, small water reservoirs, the security fence and the electric fence.

The Safari Park constructed at an estimated cost of 1.6 billion rupees is seen as an avenue to attract more tourists to the island and a boom to the tourism industry.