Govt. in discussions to restart Colombo Port City Project

The Government is conducting high level discussions with Chinese officials on restarting the Chinese-funded Colombo Port City Project early next year, a top Government official has said.

The Government is likely to give its approval to restart the stalled Port City project by February, an official has told the Xinhua yesterday.

According to the official, the Government is currently conducting high level discussions with Chinese counterparts over the status of Chinese projects in Sri Lanka. The Government on 6 March 2015 temporarily suspended the US$ 1.4 billion project launched by the previous Government in partnership with China in September last year.

The Government said it was reviewing the award of the project to China Communications Construction Co Ltd. over allegations that the previous administration breached local laws and sidestepped environmental requirements for the deal. The official has said that necessary documents including the Environmental Management Plan have already been submitted to the Sri Lankan Government and the documents are currently under review. “All the necessary documents have been submitted and the Government is likely to start the project by February,” the official was quoted as saying. The Government recently said that the project would continue and be part of its megapolis development in order to transform the country into a ‘smart and technologically advanced nation’ in the coming five years.

In September the Government extended its agreement with the China Communications Construction Company Ltd. (CCCC) for a further six months when it expired on 15 September.