Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe defended the Chinese Port City project currently in Colombo, claiming that it “presents an opportunity for everyone to make money”.
The $1.4 billion project is the single largest foreign investment on the island, and was until recently put on hold by the Sri Lankan government, with Mr Wickremesinghe stating the project had to be reviewed last year.
However, the prime minister came out in defence of the construction and sought to alleviate fears that the Chinee will be looking to place military instalments on the island.
"The Port City is not a threat to anyone, it's an opportunity for everyone to make money," he told reporters. "The Chinese have not asked for any military base in Sri Lanka."
Mr Wickremesinghe went on to state that Sri Lanka was “a small country” and that his government “will not allow in any way the security of other countries to be threatened by third parties. “Sri Lanka is committed to the freedom of navigation in the Indian Ocean," he added.
In particular Mr Wickremesinghe looked to reassure India, stating “We have discussed it with India and we are willing to discuss it with India further”.
“As you know this is not going to be China-Sri Lanka venture,” he said. “It is going to open to everyone and already many Indian businessmen have told me that they are willing to come to the port city.”
Mr Wickremesinghe was speaking at the end of a four day trip to China, where he signed a host of agreements. He was also looking to negotiate the terms of a $125 million compensation package demanded by the Chinese following delays in the Colombo Port City project.
The state owned China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) said delays in construction, which was put on hold once the current Sri Lankan government came into power last year, had cost more than $380,000 a day.
See our earlier posts:
Ranil in China as Sri Lanka hopes to restructure $8 billion of debt (07 Apr 2016)
China and Sri Lanka release joint statement strengthening bilateral relations (09 Apr 2016)
China offers 500m Yuan as goodwill donation to Sri Lanka (08 Apr 2016)
