Sri Lanka hot for port development

Sri Lanka is to press on with further port development following what a top government official described as the 'striking development' of ships at the just-opened Hambantota port.

Concerns about China’s involvement in the port sector were also waved away.
“We are developing several other ports and expanding Colombo port,” said Prof Gamini Lakshman Peiris, Sri Lanka’s Minister of External Affairs, after a speech in Bangkok.

Moving to quash concerns about Beijing’s involvement in the sector - Chinese money built the new facility at Hambantota - Mr Peiris said: “There is no exclusivity. China is not the only player.”

Mr Peiris pointed out Indian money was being used to develop ports elsewhere on the Indian Ocean island, which is planning to turn itself into a maritime trade hub.

“India is developing ports in Tricomalee,” he said, adding that "the Indians are helping us" in KKS (Kankesanthurai) port.

He explained to Port Strategy that India’s involvement was government-to-government rather than private sector. “They are mainly loans at concessionary rates,” he said.

One point Mr Peiris stressed in his speech was that the military defeat of the Tamil Tigers, the armed wing of a separatist movement based in the North and East of the country, had paved the way for economic development and the security of the seas around Sri Lanka.

There is, he said, “a total sense of tranquility with regard to maritime operations".
(Source:www.portstrategy.com)