No Cabinet approval for Port City - Ravi K
The State-owned Chinese company that initiated the Colombo Port City
Project worth US $ 1.4 billion has failed to produce the Cabinet
approval and the vital environmental clearance certificate on the
feasibility of the project, Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake said.
The ambitious project, meant to be part of China’s 21st Century
Maritime Silk Road, was suspended by the new Government that took office
on January 9, following the surprise defeat of two-term President,
Mahinda Rajapaksa.
The project was suspended on the basis that it was replete with
irregularities. “The Chinese company has produced everything but these
documents”, the Minister told the Foreign Correspondents’ Association,
at his Ministry on Thursday. Responding to journalists’ queries on the
possible ramifications for Sri Lanka in the event of a total
cancellation of the mega project, Karunanayake said it would mean that
the Sri Lankan Government would have to pay Rs. 12 billion (US$ 90
million), in addition to reimburse the cost of the work already
completed.
He said other Chinese-funded projects were continuing without any
issues. |