Ranil says country at sea over Port City

Thursday, 6 February 2014 00:07 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Raises series of questions on transparency and rationality in Parliament demanding answers from Govt . on what he described as the “most expensive project”

By Ashwin Hemmathagama Our Lobby Correspondent The main opposition United National Party yesterday raised grave questions about the proposed Port City in Colombo and demanded that the Government provide answers to Parliament about the $ 1.3 billion project to reclaim part of the ocean around the island. Leader of the Opposition Ranil Wickremesinghe questioned the viability and return on investment of the Port City that will be constructed on a reclaimed area of land of 233 hectares.

“This is the first instance in Sri Lankan history where such a vast area of land has been filled. As such this is the largest project in the Sri Lankan history,” he said. Wickremesinghe asked the Government what the reason was for launching the project and asked if that same extent of land could not be obtained from the city of Colombo. He also demanded that the Government reveal what the total spending on the project would be and how the funds would be sourced. Wickremesinghe called on the Government to explain if tenders were called before the project commenced. “If so, what are the dates on which and the media in which they were published? Or else, on what basis the investors and companies were selected for the purpose? On what basis was it decided that nearly half of the Colombo Port City be offered to a Chinese company?” the Opposition Leader charged. He asked the Government to tell Parliament what portion of the city the Government of Sri Lanka would possess after it was constructed. Wickremesinghe also questioned the Government on what tax concessions were offered and which government agency was vested with the authority to carry out the project. “What are the commercial and economical benefits the country gains out of this project? Will there be hotels, cafeterias or flats built in this city for the general public? If so what are they? Will the coast preservation and environment be adversely affected by the sea filling made for this project? Have environmental feasibility studies been conducted?” He said that it was absurd that such a massive project had been undertaken by the Government without obtaining Parliamentary approval when the Legislature was mandated by the constitution to oversee public finance. Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne responding on behalf of the Government requested time until 18 February to provide answers to the Opposition Leader’s questions.