Leading News from Sri Lanka::

* Sri Lanka signs two MOUs with China for building complex in Port City and underground Marine Drive in Colombo

Fri, Jan 26, 2018, 09:12 pm SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.

Jan 26, Colombo: Extending the Tripartite Agreement signed between the Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development, Urban Development Authority and China Harbor Engineering Company Ltd. (CHEC) Port City Colombo, Sri Lanka has signed two MOUs for two development projects.

The MOUs were signed in Beijing for funding of the Colombo International Finance City (CIFC) Building Complex on the reclaimed land of Colombo Port City Development Project and the Underground Marine Drive Tunnel connecting Airport Highway and the Marine Drive at Kollupitiya.

These two MOUs were signed in the presence of Minister of Megapolis & Western Development Patali Champika Ranawaka, Ambassador of Sri Lanka in China Dr Karunasena Kodituwakku, Senior Advisor to the Minister of Megapolis and Western Development Vidya Amarapala, Project Director of the Port City Project Nihal Fernando, and Managing Director of CHEC Port City Colombo Ltd Jiang Houliang.

It was observed that 60 percent of the reclamation work at the Port City and the breakwater construction has already been completed and that the reclamation and the construction of the breakwater would be completed by June 2019. The Chinese investment company indicated their willingness to invest further US$ 1 billion to build three 60-storey office towers on the reclaimed land. CHEC aims to deliver the first site for construction by the end of 2018.

According to the provisions of the Tripartite Agreement, the Ministry of Megapolis & Western Development made a request to the project company to look into the possibility of further investing on BOT basis to connect the elevated airport highway from Chaithya at the A1 Gate of the Colombo Harbor to the Marine Drive at Kollupitiya. Preliminary investigations have indicated that the road connection has to be implemented as an underground tunnel connection. The Cabinet has approved in principle the signing of these two MOUs.

With the construction of the underground tunnel connection, the Galle Face Green will be further extended towards the sea as a public facility.

The $1.4 billion development of Port City, a project of China Communication Construction Company (CCCC), the parent company of CHEC, began in late 2016 as part of Beijing's ambitious plans to create a modern-day "Silk Road" across Asia.