Sri Lanka sells 80% of the port of Hambantota to the CMPort Chinese in order to tackle to the debits



Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) has signed an agreement with the Chinese group Lowers Merchant Holding Ports Co. (CMPort) for the development of the port of Hambantota through a program of public-private initiative, port of call that is inaugurated at the end of 2010 but that it has become partially operating only to half 2012 ( on August 4, 2010 and 7 june 2012). The understanding, of preliminary character, previews that 80% of the property of the port are transferred to the harbour group public Chinese who will have to invest 1,12 billion dollars in throws again of the harbour port of call.

The minister to the Strategies of development and the international commerce Sri Lankan, Malik Samarawickrama, has explained that the understanding with the Chinese group takes part of the initiatives in order to revitalize the economy of the nation: "the government - he has asserted - must use correct and in the long term timely strategies in order to free the Country the economic crisis and to place the economic development on a right way. A method is that to restructure the activities and the companies that accuse economic losses. Consequently the government will have to restructure activities and societies that generate losses through agreements with local and foreign entrepreneurs. Otherwise the population will have to support the payment of the debits of some state institutions that have huge losses. In the past our nation has made a fruitful experience in the restructure of these institutions".

"It is in this context - it has continued Samarawickrama - than the government has assumed measures in order to transform the port of Hambantota in joint venture with a private society that belongs to the Chinese government". The minister has remembered that Sri Lanka has had on loan from China than more 150 billion rupees (a billion of dollars) in order to construct the new port. "From January on October 31, 2015 - it has emphasized Samarawickrama - Sri Lanka Ports Authority has had returns pairs to 32,2 billion rupees, of which 91.15% it is generated by the port of Columbus. However these revenues have been destined to the maintenance of the port of Hambantota and to the payment of its debits. During this period - it has specified the minister - the expenses of maintenance for the port of Hambantota are piled to 2,6 billion rupees; moreover 8,5 billion rupees are poured in order to pay debits and interest rates. But in the same period the total revenues deriving from the port of Hambantota have been single pairs to 1,7 billion rupees, so that every citizen of the Country has a debit of relative ten thousand rupees to the single port of Hambantota. The only strategy in order to save the port of Hambantota - it has concluded the minister - is to transform it in an enterprise that generates yield".