Colombo Port City project comes under heavy flak

By Ranil Wijayapala

The Colombo Port City project is coming under heavy flak as political higher ups and environmentalists were crying foul of the project .

The fate of the controversial US $ 1.5 billion deal to construct the Colombo port city, is running more into a political and diplomatic issue as Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe appointing an expert committee to investigate into the details of the controversial project before taking any final decision on it claiming that the deal for the super luxury real estate project has been finalized without Cabinet approval, and without following proper procedure.

Rock stones cut from mountains piled up for filling

Sand being injected under pressure to fill the ground can be seen in the background.

New pier being built with chinese collaboration i

Temporary halt

Although the statement by premier Wickremesinghe, has put a temporary halt to the ongoing debate on the Port City project, protests against the project are still emerging from the fishing community in the western coast of the country fearing that they would lose their livelihood, from environmentalists fearing the loss of marine biodiversity in the sea bed adjoining the proposed project area and also from political parties which were vehemently opposing the project on the basis of the sovereignty of the country.

The Port City project has become an issue for the National Unity Government to handle with utmost care without earning the wrath of the voters and without making it a diplomatic gaffe with China as it was a project involving the Government of China and Chinese contractors.

It is turning into a sensitive issue for the the National Unity Government as the Indian Government is also closely monitoring the project as India concerned that such a massive project in which China is having key control adjoining the Colombo port, the main port of Sri Lanka was a threat to India also making it an issue testing the non-aligned foreign policy of the country.

But it is up to the Government to consider the pros and cons and take a decision in favour of the country and its environment and people without succumbing to pressure from any party.

The appointing of an expert committee headed by Ajith de Costa a Human Resource Management expert, including Prof. Ruchira Cumaranatunga an expert in marine biology, Dr. N.P. Wijayananada a geological expert and former Chairman of the Geological Survey and Mines Bureaue, Dr. Anil Premaratne, Director General of the Coast Conservation and Coastal Resource Management, Prof. Samantha Hettiarachchi, Professor in Civil Engineering, Channa Fernando, and Sunila Jayawardena to examine the project in depth and make recommendations to the Government can be considered an action towards making an unbiased opinion on the project and action in the right dirction.

According to Prmier Wickremesinghe a Cabinet Sub Committee headed by Prime Minister himself has been appointed to take decisions regarding the project after studying the report to be submitted by the expert committee after an in-depth analysis of the project.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe assured parliament that the Government will take a decision on the project based on the facts revealed by the expert committee investigating the project.

Decision

The Sunday Observer learns that the expert committee would not take much time to complete the investigations and make recommendations to the Government enabling it to take a final decision over the project soon.

Premier Wickremesinghe also told parliament that the Rajapaksa Government hid the true facts from the people and also from parliament making it a serious issue for the country. "We will take necessary steps if there is anything illegal and corrupt in this agreement and conditions harmful to the country", the premier said.

Wickremesinghe said he and President Maithripala Sirisena had held talks with Chinese representatives on the project and said that they would take action against politicians, government officials and agencies and companies involved in the abuse of power or corruption.

"We will not allow abuse of power and corruption to obstruct friendly relations between China and Sri Lanka," he said.

"We will also not protect corrupt individuals whether they be Chinese or Sri Lankan."

He said the Rajapaksa regime had not kept parliament properly informed about the port city project.

Not transparent

"The former regime promised to provide details but failed to do so,.The Port City project agreement was not transparent. The agreement was signed without Cabinet approval,'

"The former regime also failed to answer charges that there was no proper Environmental Impact Assessment. They hid details of the project and also made false statements to parliament," Wickremesinghe said.

Cabinet Spokesman and Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne earlier said that considering the nature of the agreement that had been signed with the Chinese Company engaged in building the CPCP, it would be extremely difficult to cancel it without the country incurring heavy penalties.

Launched

The Port City is planned on 252 hectares of reclaimed land in Colombo. There will be a 3.25km long breakwater and a large internal artificial canal in the city. According to the proposed deal, 108 hectares would be taken over by China Communications Construction Co Ltd, including 20 hectares on an outright basis and the rest on a 99-year lease. Construction of the Colombo Port City project was launched on 17 September 2014 by Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the Chinese President Xi Jinping.

This reclaimed Port City would include roads, water, and electricity, communication facilities to set up shopping areas, water sports area, mini golf course, hotels, apartments, recreation areas and marinas.

According to the initial plan, there was a move to include a new Formula One track, constructed in the vicinity of the Colombo Harbour.

It will cover an area of more than 5.2 million sq metres building area with capacity for 160,000 people.

The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna which is vehemently opposing the project has said that there are serious concerns that has to be looked into when reviewing the Colombo Port City Project.

Leader of the JVP MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake said that for the first time in Sri Lanka, 575 acres in front of Galle Face have been given to the Chinese to reclaim and build an island. They have simply given away 575 acres.

No law

"In our country, there are laws governing the reclamation of paddy land or even swamps, but there is no law for land reclamation from the sea. First we need to introduce such a law.

An environment impact report was not compiled. In order to reclaim 575 acres, there should be a bed of at least 1000 acres", he said recently.

He said that engineers indicated that they will need 120 million cubes of stone alone and they have only got 20 million cubes of stone and the contractors are not aware from where they are taking these stones.

"They are not looking into where stones is come from. The reclamation of land from the sea must be stopped. The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna will exert pressure to ensure that it is stopped", he said.

According to the available information about the project the Coast Conservation & Coast Resources Management Department issued final approval for the EIA pertaining to the Port City Development Project in October, 2014.

Apart from this, an Environmental Management Plan (EMP) was submitted by China Communications Construction Company, as per the requirements of the Environmental Impact Assessment.

This Environment Management Plan had been approved by the Coast Conservation & Coast Resources Management Department in December, 2014.

According to environmentalists although an Environment Impact Assessment report has been done on the project it has only been done for the reclaimed area. An EIA has not been done to determine the amount of sand they need to fill the reclaimed area and also from where this sand will be taken.

Huge issue

It has become a huge issue as the contractors have to get the sand from offshore sand deposits. Environmental experts raise doubts whether there is enough sand in these deposits necessary to reclaim the land.

There should be a study to determine whether by excavating this sand there will be any impact on marine life which will directly have an impact on the livelihoods of the fisher folk.

The China Communications Construction Company which has undertaken the project has also indicated that they have nothing to worry about the future of the project and they were continuing with the project as they have not yet received any communication to put the project on hold until the review period is over.

However. The Government has indicated that they are ready to renegotiate the clauses which are not in favour of the country after reviewing the agreement with the Chinese Government .

The Chinese Government has also indicated that they are ready to review the agreement if ther6e was any illegality when finalizing the agreement.

Chinese Special Envoy and Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Liu Jianchao during his visit to Sri Lanka early this month told the media that "China understands the new Sri Lankan leaders' policies and is confident that any issue can be settled diplomatically. I don't see any obstacles.

We will find solutions to the possible questions in a very friendly manner. Projects including the CPCP are to be re-evaluated during your President's visit to Beijing."

Therefore,it is believed that Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera's scheduled visit to China at the end of this month would lay the foundation for the discussions aimed at this end and also to strengthen the relations between Sri Lanka and China to resolve the issue without making any diplomatic row and settle the issue amicably during President Maitripala Sirisena's scheduled visit to China.