By Gagani Weerakoon and Skandha Gunasekara

China has insisted on 15,000 acres of land from the proposed industrial park to be set up in Hambantota which at the moment has only 3,000 acres, identified as land made available for the special zone.

Announcing this in Parliament yesterday Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said……the Industrial Park abutting the Hambantota Port would be controlled under a new mechanism in which the BOI will also be included.

Responding to a query by JVP MP Bimal Ratnayake he added that this massive project would be controlled under a mechanism, which includes BOI and the Development Management Authority that is to be established shortly. He also said that this area would be developed along the lines of development in Andra Pradesh in India.

He stated that the 15,000 acres have been requested by Chinese companies for their massive investments in the Industrial Park that is to be set up around the Hambantota Port.

He added that Thailand had also come up with proposals for major investment projects in the zone. He added that land would have to be given to investors in other countries too. The Premier said land in Hambantota, Moneragala, Matara and Ratnapura Districts will have to be cleared and merged into the development thrust of the government and given on long term lease agreements to investors. He added that agreements have been signed between Sri Lanka and China on Chinese Investments in the Hambantota Industrial Zone. He added the agreement would be tabled in the House.

Courtesy: Ceylon Today