A project of many costs

by E.S Dias

Aruna Roshan is a fisherman in Sri Lanka but in all likelihood will not be able to fish, the only profession he and his family have known for generations.

But Roshan is not alone. There are thousands like him living on the west coast from Moratuwa to Negombo who are facing imminent danger of being asked to leave their existing homes and have their livelihood restricted - if work should recommence on the new Colombo Port City project.

Colombo Port City Project is scheduled to recommence in February (icaruswept.com)

Most of the fish breeding areas already have been affected, Roshan, the President of the All Ceylon Fishermen's Association, told ucanews.com, adding that the fisher community was today facing a bleak future.

Lal Nissanaka, a fisherman who owned four boats, complained that he had to sell off all four since there is a decrease in the amount of fish as the breeding areas have been adversely affected because of the project. The Colombo Port City Project was part of the previous government's plan to expand on the existing Colombo Port and had entered into an agreement with the China Communication Construction Co. Ltd. to invest in the construction.

Wide protests

However, wide protests brought on by civil society groups and environmentalists highlighting issues faced by the fisher community, as well as its adverse impact on fish breeding areas, damage to coral reefs and coastal erosion halted the project.

But now, there are strong indications that the Colombo Port City project will resume in February.

Roshan, who had opposed the move by state authorities to implement the construction of the project, insisted that the government's environmental impact assessment report had not taken into account their concerns and had not talked to them prior to its documentation. Meanwhile, the Catholic Church has a group of priests and nuns working against this project and is representing the fisherfolk who are mostly Catholic, owing to the church's focus on marginalized communities.

Father Sarath Iddamalgoda, who heads this group, told ucanews.com they would oppose moves by the state and was awaiting an appointment with President Maithripala Sirisena to discuss the matter.

He said that although President Sirisena, who assumed office in January, had opposed the project during the presidential election has later conceded to go ahead with it as "this government also wants to establish better support from the Chinese Government."

But the proposed construction would displace about 50,000 families, he said.

Currently, there are two cases filed against the construction of the Colombo Port City Project - one in the Supreme Court by the Ceylon Fisher Folk Trade Union and the other in the Court of Appeal by the Center for Environmental Justice (Guarantee) Ltd.

Development vs. people's welfare

Meanwhile, Patali Champika Ranawaka, the Minister of Megapolis and Western Development, a key government minister in charge of the construction, told ucanews.com that the Board of Investment(BoI) and the Development Ministry had conceptually cleared the project.

He explained that the Colombo Port City Project is one of three that would be part of the Megapolis Plan to develop the Western Province, according to the government's vision of developing Sri Lanka in the coming years.

He said, his ministry would obtain inputs from professional bodies and present the project plan to parliament and investors.

Ranawaka noted that his ministry had agreed to proceed with the Port City Project on the condition that all legal and environmental issues would be addressed and also covered by the local laws.

However, Chairman, Environmentalist and Environment Conservation Trust, Sajeewa Chamikara, insisted that there could be an adverse climate change impact on the country arising from this project, including the rising of sea levels.

He told ucanews.com that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has not studied these consequences and explained that the rise in sea levels could affect the proposed Colombo Port City itself, in addition to other areas of the country.

- Ucanews