COLOMBO: The Sri Lankan Government and the Chinese company involved in the construction of the port city ay Galle Face have reached a compromise on the project which has been stalled for several months.
Government spokesman and Media Minister Gayantha Karunathilake told reporters today that the Chinese company, CHEC Port City Colombo, has agreed not to seek compensation from the Government for the losses incurred after the project was temporarily suspended.
“In view of the goodwill created by the visits of the President and the Prime Minister to China, the project company has agreed to withdraw all compensation claims for losses incurred due to the suspension of the project caused by the failure of the previous administration to obtain the required environmental permits,” Karunatillake said.
He said that when completed the Colombo port city will have 45 hectares of parks and 13 hectares of artificial beaches, compared to 5.7 hectares currently available to the public at Galle Face.
The Minister also said that it has been agreed with the Chinese Government that the port city land is being used to build a Financial City to fill the vacuum between Singapore and Dubai.
“This will enable offshore operations. For this purpose, the government will propose new laws for governing offshore activities like in Dubai. The Financial City will make a major income earner and an employment provider for Sri Lanka,” he said.
CHEC Port City Colombo had earlier sought compensation after the new Sri Lankan government, which took office in January last year, decided to suspend work on the project after some concerns were raised on the deal signed between the former government and the Chinese company.
However once the concerned were resolved the new Government announced that after a one-year suspension, the project had been cleared to resume work.
CHEC Port City Colombo said that the suspension and the lengthy process taken to resume work had resulted in significant losses to both the company and the Sri Lankan Government.
