Final decision on Port City soon
by Uditha Kumarasinghe
The final decision on the future of the China-backed US$ 1.5 billion
Colombo Port City project will be taken at the highest level over the
next two weeks, Cabinet spokesman and Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne
told the Sunday Observer yesterday.
This matter will be further discussed by President Maithripala
Sirisena with Chinese President Xi Jinping during his official visit to
Beijing later this month, Health and Indigenous Medicine Minister Dr.
Senaratne said. The final decision will then be taken by the President
and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in consultation with the
Cabinet, he said.
Last week there were conflicting reports as to whether or not the
Government’s announcement of the ‘temporary suspension of the project
was actually in force. Dr. Senaratne affirmed that the ‘suspension was
on.
A statement from the project implementing company, China
Communications Construction Company Ltd (CCCC), yesterday confirmed that
in compliance with the Government’s suspension order, work on the
project was being halted pending a final decision.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told the Cabinet that the
construction company had obtained only a temporary permit valid for a
couple of days. Therefore, the company has been asked to produce the
approval that they had obtained for the project within two weeks. The
project has, however, been temporarily suspended for two weeks.
Dr. Senaratne said that the Premier told the Cabinet that the
decision to suspend the project temporarily was taken on the advice of
the Economic Affairs Committee. The committee had noted that the project
is being implemented without the relevant approval from the institutions
concerned.
“When I called on the outgoing Chinese Ambassador recently, he said
that the Port City project was the brainchild of the Chinese President.
That is why he came to Sri Lanka and laid the foundation stone for the
project. Therefore, nobody can say there is no involvement of the
Chinese Government in this project,” he said.
The Minister said leaders such as former Prime Minister Sirimavo
Bandaranaike maintained good relations with India as they were close to
each other. She had good relations with China as well. The SLFP has
always been a traditional friend of India and China. “We maintained a
non-aligned policy, though it was changed after 1977 when the country’s
foreign policy changed.
Asked about the reasons which led to the suspension of the project,
the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) spokesman told the Sunday Observer
that the Government would make a comprehensive statement covering all
aspects of the project next week. This is an agreement signed between
two countries and the Cabinet would thoroughly study the project. The
SLPA would take action as directed by the Cabinet, he said. The
Investment Promotion Ministry has sought the Attorney General’s advice
whether the SLPA alone has been empowered to approve such a project. In
September last year, Chinese President Xi Jinping launched construction
work on the Port City Project. Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa signed
the agreement with China to build a Port City on 233 hectares. The
construction work on the project is carried out by Multinational China
Communications Construction Company (CCCC), a subsidiary China Harbour
Engineering Company. When the project was launched, environmentalists
warned that it would cause severe damage to the entire south western
coastline of the island. Earlier, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe said
that the Port City would be suspended if it had failed to meet
environmental standards.
He has appointed a special committee to probe the project. The
committee will obtain reports from the Attorney General, Environmental
Authority, Ports Ministry, Board of Investment and Finance Ministry
before reaching a final determination, a Government spokesman said. |