Govt. to obtain $100 m loan for Port City development

By Chathuri Dissanayake

The Cabinet this week gave the Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development approval to sign an agreement with China Development Bank for a $100 million loan for development activities in the Port City.

“This is to obtain an interest-free $ 100 million loan from China Development Bank, to develop the access road to the Port City,' a top official told the Daily FT.

"According to the Tri-Party agreement we have signed, the Government of Sri Lanka has to support the CHEC Port City Colombo Ltd. to obtain funds needed for the project, so we are going to be signing the loan agreement with the bank, along with the company,” Megapolis and Western Development Ministry Secretary Nihal Rupasinghe told Daily FT.

The loan to be obtained is to develop the underground tunnel and access road to the Port City from Chaithya Mawatha, connecting to Marine Drive, Rupasinghe said.

“The current access road is a temporary one, so we need to build a proper access road without disturbing the Galle Face Green and Galle Face Hotel, to connect to Marine Drive,” he said.

The Cabinet also gave approval to a proposal by Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka to manage and maintain the 269ha Port City area as a special zone, managed by the CHEC Port City Company Ltd. The reclaimed area, which is now part of Sri Lanka’s territory, also includes public places and roads spread across a total of 91ha of land.

The area also includes a 2km stretch of beach suitable for water sports in all seasons, a main park, and a 70m wide canal running through the city. Sri Lanka’s first manmade island also includes restaurants, port for leisure vessels, international education and health centres, and a conference hall.

The Cabinet gave approval this week to set up a special body with powers needed to manage and maintain the Port City, which has been declared a State land in Western Province, Colombo District, the Cabinet briefing notes issued by the Information Department said.

“This will be like the Colombo Municipal Council; it will be a special unit, set up with representation from both CHEC Port City Colombo and the Government,” Rupasinghe said.

The special body will be responsible for giving all approvals for services and other matters within the Port City area.

“This will be managed as a separate entity to the other areas,” he noted.