After Indian protest, Sri Lanka alters land deal with China
August 03, 2016 00:10
Sri Lanka has withdrawn permission for a Chinese company to buy the freehold to 20 hectares of land being reclaimed under a $1.4 billion port project after India objected.
Instead it will grant the state-owned construction company a 99-year lease on the land next to the port in Colombo, under a new agreement.
The project is being funded by China Communications Construction Company and was launched by Chinese President Xi Jinping in September 2014 during a visit to Colombo.
Beijing has been accused of seeking to develop facilities around the Indian Ocean in a "string of pearls" strategy to counter the rise of rival India and secure its own economic interests.
The reclamation represents the biggest-ever single foreign investment in Sri Lanka. It will add 269 hectares (672 acres) of real estate in the congested capital, which has a population of over 650,000.
Once completed, the Chinese will have 108 hectares (266 acres) on a 99-year lease for commercial development. Earlier, 20 hectares of that was to be on a freehold basis. Under the agreement, the Sri Lankan government will get 62 hectares (153 acres) and the rest will be public parks and access roads.
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