State-owned Chinese firm to take 85pc stake in port which is likely to play a strategic role in the ‘Belt and Road’ initiative
State-owned China Merchant Port Holdings is investing up to a US$1.12 billion to develop, manage and operate Sri Lanka’s Hambantota Port, close to the world’s busiest shipping lanes, in a revised agreement with the Colombo government.
China Merchant said it will take a 80 per cent stake in Hambantota International Port Group with the rest held by Sri Lanka Ports Authority. Sri Lanka’s cabinet cleared the revised agreement on Tuesday.
A deal was struck between the two sides late last year to further develop the port, located on the southern coast of the island.
Under the original agreement, the Sri Lankan government will also lease a total of 15,000 acres for a proposed industrial zone at the port. It has also sought to limit China’s role to running commercial operations at the port while it has oversight of broader security.
The project, however, has been controversial.
