Colombo invites more Chinese project and investment assistance
View(s):Sri Lanka is accelerating implementation of ongoing Chinese projects in the country while inviting the global giant of further involvement in other projects including the Megapolis project. This assurance and request was conveyed to the authorities in Beijing during a recent visit to China by Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade Malik Samarawickrama and Minister of Southern Development and Law and Order Sagala Ratnayake. They were joined in the high-level meetings by Sri Lankan Ambassador Karunasena Kodittuwakku, according to a media release issued by the Board of Investment (BOI).
During the meetings, the delegation drew attention to possible Chinese involvement in the Sri Lankan government’s development plans, such as the Western Region Megapolis project, which includes infrastructure development, involving elevated highways, light railway and utilities as well as real estate, both housing and commercial. The proposed International Financial Centre can provide an additional platform for the internationalisation of the Yuan, it was stated. There was no reference in the release on the progress and changes in the Colombo Port City project, but the delegation is learnt to have fully briefed Chinese authorities on this much-in-the-news project.
Ms. Hu Xiaolian, Chairperson, Exim Bank of China and Zhen Zhijie, Governor, China Development Bank, were among those the delegation had discussions with. The delegation also explored ways and means of mobilising Exim Bank and China Development Bank investment for new projects, as well as strengthening cash flow and liability management of ongoing projects, the release said. It discussed the importance of the early completion of the FTA with China which would give Sri Lanka preferential access to a market of three billion people as it already has preferential trade agreements with India and Pakistan. “The Chinese authorities were positive about Sri Lanka’s prospects as a strategically located platform for trade, investment and tourism. They saw opportunities for strengthening bilateral cooperation and looked forward to Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe’s visit to China in April to take the relationship to a new level,” the BOI release said.