CHEC Port City
Colombo (Pvt) Ltd, a Chinese Communications unit, has invested $800 million of
a total of $1.4 billion in land reclaim, and is preparing to market and build
support facilities, an official said. "So far, only $800 million has spent
from the initial $1.4 billion investment," Nihal Fernando, project manager
for the Port City initiative, told the media. The City of Port rolled out with
the Urban Development Authority of Sri Lanka.
In 2019 under
the first phase of the project, it completed the reclamation of 269 hectares of
land from the ocean south of the Colombo Port. Fernando said the rest of the
funds from the initial investment used to build a yachting marina. It will have
a central park, as well as other facilities.
The second phase
of the project will see the firm marketing the plan to invest internationally.
Overall, it expected that Port City, also known as the Colombo International
Financial Centre, will attract US$ 15 billion in investment to Sri Lanka. They
have already allocated the first three buildings. Fernando said some of the
building has already begun, and the first building will open in 2023.
He said CHEC
await concessions from the government to go out and sell the project. A new law
is a draft on how the Port City will operate, making it easier to arbitrate and
settle international contracts and becoming a hub for such activity in South
Asia.
"Everything
has now lined up, and the government is very keen on that as well. The legislation
is coming out very early," said Fernando. "China-Sri Lanka
partnership is getting stronger day by day," he said.
The sale of real
estate in the Colombo Port City is an ideal investment opportunity for foreign
investors to invest in Sri Lanka’s future. Investments in Port City are
possible in several areas that range from business, leisure, health and many
other sectors.
Local businesses
could also grab the opportunity to seek foreign business entities to form
partnerships/joint ventures to set up new investments in the Port City. Even
with Sri Lanka closing in on achieving hub status in the Indian Ocean region,
holding a land space in the Colombo Port City will be a great asset in the
global business sphere.
OSL Take: The
Belt and Road Initiative expected to possibly become the most significant
infrastructure project ever involving 68 countries around the world
resurrecting the old “Silk Road” that used to link Europe and Asia.
The initiative’s objective is to make economic
and trade activities along the route dynamic and vigorous once again,
establishing it as the world’s most dominant trading area. The Belt and Road
Initiative will complement the government of Sri Lanka’s aim of establishing
Sri Lanka as a global hub and also open avenues for innumerable opportunities.
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