Sri Lanka hands Control Of Its Southern Coast Port To China To Settle 99-Years  Debt Agreement

Sri Lanka has formally handed control of a strategic port on its southern coast to China as part of a 99-year lease agreement.

Under a US$1.1 billion (Dh4bn) deal that the Sri Lankan political opposition and trade unions have called a “sell-out” move, Chinese firms now hold a 70 per cent stake in Hambantota port.

The $1.3bn port was built with loans from a Chinese state-owned bank and opened in 2010. But the Sri Lankan government has struggled to repay the debt, with the project incurring heavy losses. Along with loans taken out for other infrastructure development projects, Colombo now owes China a total of $8bn.

“With [the Hambantota port] agreement we have started to pay back the loans,” Sri Lankan prime minster Ranil Wickremesinghe said during a handing-over ceremony in parliament on Saturday. “Hambantota will be converted to a major port in the Indian Ocean”.

AMN | Ben-Oni’s Report | Kumasi.