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.