Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa took part in the opening ceremony of the Chinese-backed port in Colombo district. China harbour company is building a 1.4 billion dollar port city, Xinhua news agency reported.
Sri Lankan PM hails the accelerating the development of the Colombo Port City project constructed by China. According to the top official, that move ensures that it will emerge as a new business hub in the island Asian state. Sri Lankan government will firmly support and accelerate the cooperation with China, Mahinda Rajapaksa said on Saturday.
Mr Rajapaksa and the Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Cheng Xueyuan and other government ministers have visited the port to officially declare the 269 hectares of land reclaimed from the sea for the project as part of the Colombo district.
A commemorative stamp and a first day cover were also issued at the grand ceremony followed by a mega fireworks display.
The Sri Lankan PM pledged to accelerate the implementation of the preferential policies of the Chinese -backed port from the government level as early as January 2020. The Cabinet also strives to build the project into a new business card for Sri Lanka at the earliest.
The Colombo Port City is island’s largest Foreign Direct Investment project and is expected to attract serious investments in the coming decade, according to the PM. The Chinese-backed port will also create over 80,000 jobs and will transform Sri Lanka into a regional business and financial hub.
