Sri Lanka embarks on a pipeline of FDI projects from China
Sri Lanka is set to implement a pipeline of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) projects from China. The Exim Bank of China has agreed to fund all the projects in the Chinese project pipeline and a priority list of projects will be submitted to the bank to obtain funding on priority basis, a report submitted to the Cabinet Committee on Economic Management (CEM) has revealed. Minister of International Trade Malik Samarawickrema told the CEM meeting recently that Chinese investors are keen on investing in Mattala Airport, Hambantota Economic and Industrial zone and are looking forward to sign MOUs soon, official sources said. The Government was accelerating the implementation of ongoing Chinese projects valued at around US$ 6 billion including the Economic Zone, ship repair project and airport development in Hambantota.
New infrastructure projects discussed included the extension of the Southern Highway, Kandy and Ratnapura Expressways, and portable and waste water projects, he informed the CEM. Attention was focused on the Chinese assistance in the 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 CEM has directed the Treasury to explore 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, official sources disclosed to Business Times.
Chinese authorities were optimistic on Sri Lanka’s prospects as a strategically located platform for trade, investment and tourism, official sources said adding that opportunities for strengthening bilateral cooperation was explored during Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe’s visit to China. Measures will also be taken to finalise the Free Trade Agreement with China which would give Sri Lanka preferential access to a market of over a billion people, Minister Samarawickrema told the CEM. It was agreed that considerable potential existed to build on the already rapidly increasing number of Chinese visiting Sri Lanka.