(COLOMBO, LANKAPUVATH) –Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Tuesday made an inspection tour of the China-funded US$ 1.4 billion real estate development, Colombo Port City project.
The Prime Minister accompanied by Minister of Megapolis and Western Development Patali Champika Ranawaka and several other ministers visited the observatory room at the site and inspected future construction work.
The Colombo Port City which is being constructed by China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd.(CHEC) will be the first of its kind in South Asia.
The Premier was briefed by the management of the Port City Project on the overall project and the present stage of construction, Xinhua reported.
This project which is also expected to be a financial center, will convert Sri Lanka into a global hub in the region, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe told reporters at the site of construction.
“The CHEC is reclaiming land from the sea to construct this city and we must make use of it. In the future, this Port City will have at least 75,000 people residing here and 200,000 people moving in and out of the city on a daily basis,” he added.
The Premier said the Colombo Port City will have many facilities and bring in new life to the Sri Lankan economy.
“The Colombo Port City will be one of a kind and we thank CHEC and the Megapolis and Western Development Ministry for their dedicated work towards the Port City,” the Premier said.
The project has now completed 50 percent of the land reclamation preparing a land area of 134.5 hectares out of the proposed 269 hectares.
The Colombo Port City, launched in September 2014, will have many unique features such as a strong solar and wind power system, waste recycling and a treatment to harvest rain water.
There will be several pedestrians and cycle lanes while the city will be connected to Colombo through a Light Rail Transport system.
The Port City will also include residential buildings, schools, banks, shopping malls, a marina, parks, hotels and public beaches.
Once completed the City will function as a separately governed entity with its own economic and commercial laws to facilitate operations of global multinational corporations.
Once completed, the projected is expected to attract 15 billion U.S. dollars worth of investment into Sri Lanka. The first investment of US$ one billion for projects on the reclaimed land is expected to begin by mid-2018.
Deputy Minister Dr. Harsha de Silva and State Minister Eran Wickramaratne also accompanied the Prime Minister in his observation tour.
