Nivard Cabraal: Sri Lanka Police ‘will maintain law and order in Port City’
COLOMBO: The government has dismissed allegations that the Colombo Port City would be a “Chinese Colony,” pointing out that it will be administered under Sri Lankan law.
State Minister of Money & Capital Market and State Enterprise Reforms Ajith Nivard Cabraal said all civil matters of the Port City would be executed under the Sri Lankan law.
He was addressing a news conference in Colombo,
The Sri Lanka Police will maintain law and order in the Port City. Given the global outlook of the Port City, there would be an International Arbitration Council for dispute resolution, he said.
“Moreover, the Sri Lankan government is seeking to approve draft legislation for a Colombo Port City Commission from Parliament to govern and manage the Colombo Port City. This is aimed at making Port City Sri Lanka’s first service-oriented specialized economic zone.
“There will also be a 5 to 7 member committee comprising experts and intellectuals with diversified knowledge appointed by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to govern and manage the Port City,” Cabraal said.
He stressed that in addition out of the 178 hectares of marketable land in the Port City, the Sri Lankan government will own and manage and make profits from 62 hectares of land and hence it is a wrong perception to pin the Colombo Port city as a Chinese colony,” he added.
The state minister recalled that it was the previous government that introduced several agreements to the Port City administration, even signing a final document just two days prior to presidential elections. “Hence this bill has not been brought to parliament in a hurry.”
Cabraal said that the Colombo Port City would be a catalyst for economic revival as it would provide over 83,000 high paying employment opportunities and will completely change the economic fabric of the nation.
“It would be the single biggest investment in the history of Sri Lanka attracting not only Chinese but other investors from all over the world.”
He said the government debt service last year saw a paradigm shift where the foreign loans were reduced from 65% to 40% and the Government hopes to reduce this further through attracting Foreign Direct Investments (FDI).
In a bid to woo global investors to the Port City, several investment protection laws, concessions, tax holidays, tax-free salaries, longer leases of land had been provided. In addition, to speed up project approval process a ‘single window concept’ too has been created.