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Ranil Wickremesinghe News

09 Nov 2022

Sri Lanka Starts Construction of $700M Port Project

Sri Lanka's largest port began on Wednesday construction of a $700 million terminal project, partly funded by India's Adani Group, an official said, marking the first foray by an Indian company into the sector. India has this year provided the most financial support to its southern neighbour, which is facing its worst economic crisis in more than seven decades. India is now keen to see long-term projects by Indian companies take off in Sri Lanka. "Dredging commenced in the morning," Upul Jayatissa, managing director of the state-run Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA), told Reuters.

05 Feb 2019

Sri Lanka Port Strike Ends

Photo courtesy of Sri Lanka Port Authority

Sri Lankan customs officers on Tuesday called off a strike that left 6,000 containers stranded at the country's main port and put pressure on food prices, after the government agreed to reinstate their boss for three months.The strike by thousands of officials began a week ago in protest at the sacking of Director General P.S.M. Charles, who authorities blamed for a drop in customs revenue last year.It was not immediately clear how long the backlog of containers would take to clear after unions said late on Tuesday that the strike had ended.About 1…

02 Jul 2018

Sri Lanka Shifts Naval base to China-controlled Port City

Sri Lanka is shifting a naval base to a port built and controlled by China, it said on Monday, a move that will strengthen security at a harbor that foreign powers fear China could use for military purposes.The base currently in the tourist district of Galle will be moved 125 km (80 miles) east along Sri Lanka's southern coast to Hambantota, nearer a main shipping route between Asia and Europe.The $1.5 billion deepwater port is likely to play a major role in China's "Belt and Road" initiative and is under a 99-year lease to China Merchants Port Holdings at a cost of $1.12 billion.Government and diplomatic sources have told Reuters that the United States, India and Japan have raised concerns that China might use the port as a naval base.The Sri Lankan government and Chinese embassy in Colom

12 May 2017

Sri Lanka Denies Chinese Request for Sub Visit

Sri Lanka has rejected China's request to dock one of its submarines in Colombo this month, two senior government officials said on Thursday as the Indian prime minister landed in the island nation. Sri Lanka last allowed a Chinese submarine to dock in the capital of Colombo in October 2014, a move that triggered fierce opposition from its northern neighbour India, which worries about growing Chinese activity in a country it has long viewed as part of its area of influence. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Sri Lanka on Thursday for a two-day official visit. A senior Sri Lankan government official said China's request to dock one of its submarines in Colombo this month had been rejected.

07 Dec 2016

Sri Lanka, China Ink Deal to Develop Southern Port

Sri Lanka will take part in a joint venture with China Merchants Port Holdings Company Limited to develop a port in its south, where China has also been offered an investment zone. The cabinet approved a plan under which Sri Lanka will lease 80 percent of the Hambantota port to Hong Kong-based China Merchants Port Holdings Company for 99 years for $1.12 billion, a government document showed on Wednesday. China Merchants Port Holdings Company will make a $5 million payment as a security deposit upon signing the agreement, which the government expects to do on Jan. The company will pay 10 percent of the $1.12 billion within one month, and the remaining 90 percent within six months of signing the transaction documents.

27 Nov 2016

Indian To Boost Maritime Security Ties with Sri Lanka

To enhance bilateral maritime relations, Indian Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba, has embarked on a five-day visit to Sri Lanka. According to PTI report, during  Sunil Lanba's  visit, he will hold bilateral discussions with President Maithripala Sirisena, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and senior dignitaries including the Chief of Defence Staff and the three Service Chiefs. The Admiral will also attend the 'Galle Dialogue' which is being held at Colombo. The Galle Dialogue is an annual conference hosted by Sri Lanka on the issues of Maritime Security and Cooperation between international navies. Representatives from 39 countries and 13 international organisations are likely to participate in the event.

15 Mar 2016

CCCC to Resume Sri Lanka Port Project After Suspension

China's CCCC said on Tuesday it had approval to restart the construction of its $1.4 billion real estate project near Colombo's port that was suspended a year ago on the orders of the Sri Lankan government. Sri Lanka's cabinet last week granted approval for China Communication Construction Company (CCCC) to resume the biggest foreign direct investment project in the country after suspending it in March last year. The project includes apartments, shopping malls, a water sports area, a golf course, hotels and marinas next to Colombo's main port which India uses as a main transhipment port. "With the resumption of work now approved, the project company will commence with preparatory work as soon as feasible to ensure that the project can be completed in the expected time frame…

19 Oct 2015

Lanka to Allow Chinese Subs Visit

Sri Lanka will allow future submarine visits by China provided they are not too frequent, and will keep the neighboring India informed of the visits, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has said. In future, Sri Lanka will set out definite criteria for calls by foreign naval ships. "We have put out the criterion for visits by naval ships. Under that, ships including submarines from all countries can visit Sri Lanka. As far as we are concerned if it is a friendly visit we will inform the neighbouring countries and we will spread out the (frequency of the) visits," he said in an interview published in The Straits Times. "The problem with the last visit by a Chinese submarine was that India claims it was not informed.

10 May 2015

US Pulls Sri Lanka out of China Maritime Net

US has begun to wean Sri Lanka away from China’s maritime security net by incorporating Sri Lanka into their Indo-Pacific region maritime security program, says the Times of India. The US State Department said last Tuesday that United States will collaborate with Sri Lanka to act against the attempts of claiming land or maritime regions through intimidation or use of force. This would respond to the intimidation caused by China towards the controversial islands on the South China Sea. “The United States and Sri Lanka are working together to oppose intimidation or the use of force to assert territorial or maritime claims,” the US State Department’s Deputy Spokesman, Jeff Rathke, said in Washington.

05 Feb 2015

Sri Lanka Backs China Port City Deal After Threat to Cancel

Sri Lanka's cabinet said on Thursday it would allow a $1.5 billion "port city" deal with China to go ahead, apparently dropping its earlier threats to cancel the project, approved by the last government. Cabinet Spokesman Rajitha Senaratne said new President Maithripala Sirisena would however discuss with Beijing controversial arangements over the freehold of land to be used, when he visited China in March. Sri Lanka's neighbour India has raised concern over security threats posed by Chinese ownership of the freehold of 20 hectares of land next to the main commercial port in Colombo, as India is a major user of Colombo as a transshipment port.

22 Jan 2015

Sri Lanka Softens Stance on China Port City dealD

Sri Lanka's new government said on Thursday it might renegotiate a $1.5 billion "port city" deal with China Communications Construction Co Ltd, softening its pre-election threat to scrap the project. New Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, before last month's presidential vote, said he would cancel the port deal if his party came to power. Maithripala Sirisena, backed by Wickremesinghe's party, unseated ex-president Mahinda Rajapaksa at the polls. "We can renegotiate with China after reassessing the deal," Cabinet Spokesman Rajitha Senarathne told reporters. "We need to see the feasibility study. He said the current government had not seen any EIA or feasibility study of the project and it needed to be re-assessed because of impacts on coastal erosion.

17 Dec 2014

Sri Lanka Opposition Vows to Scrap China Port Deal if Wins Election

A leader of Sri Lanka's opposition said he would scrap a $1.5 billion deal with China Communications Construction Co Ltd to build a port city if the challenger to President Mahinda Rajapaksa wins next month's election. Chinese President Xi Jinping launched the project, which will be built on reclaimed land in the capital, Colombo, when he visited in September. Opposition parties say that some infrastructure deals struck by Rajapaksa's government, which has become heavily dependent on China for infrastructure, did not follow appropriate tender procedures and were not transparent. Although still popular and likely to win a third term, Rajapaksa is facing a stiffer challenge than expected in the Jan.