Sri Lankan Government suspends China port city project in Colombo

Sri Lanka’s newly elected government on 5 March 2015 temporarily suspended constriction work of China’s ambitious port city project in Colombo with immediate effect.
The decision was taken in Cabinet meeting chaired by Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe based upon the Interim Report submitted by a cabinet sub-committee.
The committee was appointed by the Sri Lankan Government to review the project. The Interim Report had alleged that this mega real estate deal with China was signed

• Without cabinet approval.
• Without following procedures.
• Implemented without relevant approvals from the concerned institutions.

About Colombo Port City project

• Colombo Port City project is the single-largest foreign direct investment in Sri Lanka worth 1.5 billion dollar. The project was inaugurated in September 2014, by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
• China is expecting that this project will play a key role in its ambitious Maritime Silk Road Project.
• Then President of Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapaksa had signed the deal with China to reclaim 233 hectares of land from the sea to build a port city on a 99-year lease.
• As part of the project, Chinese company was to develop commercial and entertainment hub which include shopping malls, water sports, golf, hotels, apartments and marinas.

Month: Current Affairs - March, 2015