{"id":73117,"date":"2021-06-01T15:31:56","date_gmt":"2021-06-01T20:31:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=73117"},"modified":"2021-06-01T22:32:41","modified_gmt":"2021-06-02T03:32:41","slug":"sri-lanka-invites-international-investment-into-the-colombo-port-city-while-new-delhi-officials-say-they-are-keeping-a-close-eye-on-the-project-and-its-security-implicatio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=73117","title":{"rendered":"Sri Lanka Invites International Investment into the Colombo Port City while New Delhi Officials say they are \u201ckeeping a close eye\u201d on the project and its \u201csecurity implications\u201d."},"content":{"rendered":"

By<\/p>\n

Suhasini Haidar and Meera Srinivasan<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sri Lanka on Friday invited international investment into the Colombo Port City that it described as a \u201cfully Sri Lankan project\u201d, while official sources in New Delhi said they were \u201ckeeping a close eye\u201d on the project and its \u201csecurity implications\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf it is only a commercial venture then that is their [Sri Lanka\u2019s] choice\u2026 We will continue to engage Sri Lanka, while watching our national interest,\u201d said a government source in New Delhi, awaiting the final version of the Bill whose blueprint the Sri Lankan Parliament\u2019s Speaker signed on Thursday. The \u2018Colombo Port City Economic Commission Act\u2019 is yet to be made public.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Addressing concerns around the recently passed y on laws governing the Colombo Port City, which critics fear might be a \u201cChinese enclave\u201d in the Sri Lankan capital, a team of government Ministers said the China-backed $1.4 billion-Port City, pitted as a financial hub, had the potential to create 83,000 jobs and bring in up to $15 billion in investments.<\/p>\n

Constitutional experts and opposition legislators argue that the 269-acre \u201cfinancial hub\u201d, coming up on reclaimed land adjoining Colombo\u2019s seafront, would enjoy, besides a tax-free status, immunity from Sri Lankan law. Sections within Sri Lanka, including from the political opposition, trade unions and the influential Buddhist clergy, see it as a \u201cthreat\u201d to Sri Lanka\u2019s sovereignty.<\/p>\n

\u2018Transparent venture\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Seeking to allay prevalent fears about the project, in a meeting titled \u2018The Colombo Port City: Angel or Devil?\u2019, senior Minister G.L. Peiris termed the venture \u201ctransparent\u201d, and said \u201cthere is no exclusivity\u201d in Sri Lanka\u2019s relationship with any one country. Colombo, he said, would pursue a \u201cnon-aligned\u201d foreign policy, amid growing public criticism over the government\u2019s \u201cChina-centric\u201d policies.<\/p>\n

New Delhi too will go by \u201cbenchmarks\u201d, the government source said, pointing to \u201ctransparency, openness, and financial responsibility\u201d. \u201cNo offshore havens\u2026it [the Port City] should respect the territorial integrity of Sri Lanka. And respect international norms,\u201d the source said, requesting not to be named.<\/p>\n

Apart from the high geopolitical stakes in the big-ticket investment project in the strategically located island nation, the Colombo Port City has sparked a raging debate within the country over its China policy. Instances of official signage excluding Tamil, an official language, while including Mandarin, drew wide criticism from the public.<\/p>\n

China has been among the top lenders to Sri Lanka, especially since the pandemic struck, offering a $1 billion in loan and a nearly-$ 1.5 billion currency swap facility.<\/p>\n

Earlier this week, Sri Lanka\u2019s Cabinet awarded a project to build an elevated highway in the capital\u2019s suburbs \u2014 estimated cost $ 1 billion \u2014 to the State-owned China Harbour Engineering Corporation (CHEC), on a Build\u2013operate\u2013transfer basis, for 15 years.<\/p>\n

Courtesy;The Hindu<\/em><\/p>\n

Tweet<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Suhasini Haidar and Meera Srinivasan Sri Lanka on Friday invited international investment into the Colombo Port City that it described as a \u201cfully Sri Lankan project\u201d, while official sources in New Delhi said they were \u201ckeeping a close eye\u201d on the project and its \u201csecurity implications\u201d. \u201cIf it is only a commercial venture then …<\/p>\n

Continue reading ‘Sri Lanka Invites International Investment into the Colombo Port City while New Delhi Officials say they are \u201ckeeping a close eye\u201d on the project and its \u201csecurity implications\u201d.’ »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[12],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73117"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=73117"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73117\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":73118,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73117\/revisions\/73118"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=73117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=73117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=73117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}