Port city project to start soon: Arjuna
Work on the Colombo Port City project will begin soon as it has not been cancelled, Ports and Shipping Minister Arjuna Ranatunga informed Parliament yesterday.
The Minister said work on the project was suspended as there were some serious issues pertaining to the legality as well as environment issues. He said a legal issue did exist on the ownership of the port city land which had been given to China though there was no legal provision for such a move. He said land could only be leased out according to the law. However he said these issues would be resolved soon.
Mr. Ranatunga was responding to some queries made by opposition MP Bandula Gunawardne who called for the resumption of the project.
The Minister who also responded to a comment made by MP M. L. A. M. Hisbullah said one should look into the environment aspect as well. “What are we going to do if the sea erodes into the lands creating a huge disaster?” he questioned while claiming that there was a risk of Wattala and Mount Lavinia going under water because of the project.
Mr. Gunawardene said Sri Lanka would lose a great opportunity if the project did not get off the ground. He said nearly 100,000 job opportunities would be lost in such an eventuality. The MP also questioned the role of India with regard to the Port city project. Accordingly he said India should realize that Sri Lanka was a country trying to get its development drive going.
(Daily Mirror)
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It was a big farce he and his erstwhile leaders were enacting just to project themselves as ‘heroes’. Sooner or later they have realized their futility to test their brittle and hollow heads on the rocks.
One can dictate terms from a weakness. For all practical reasons ever since Ms Bandarnaiyake signed the rice rubber pact in the 60’s something that Arjuna knows nothing of since then relations between Sri Lanka and China has been cordial and there have been many projects implemented by the Chinese the famous being the BMICH the only venue that Sri Lanka can host global conferences!!! and then the Gin Ganga project that did not come upto expectations …..that is another story that was never scrutinised. This was a bilateral agreement and the parlaiment would have had the capacity to debate and if so what role did Arjuna play then.
Mahaveli Dvelepment Project …before it was implement several ecological problems related to land erosion and its effects were raised and one expert claimed that the mahaweli waters would never reach the final stages for the run off did not meet the demand for agriculture. Another team analyesed the rate of silting would leave some of the reservoirs dry? Arjuna being a cricketer would not know anymore of these projects no more than the Port City environmental impact
Chinese faced almost global condemnation in connection with the colonisation of South China sea however they continued regardless and in connection with the Prot City project the Chinese have been magnanimous in accepting the Government stand on this project and assured the GOSL of their continued support in the islands development effort something they can afford to do.
Never thought when I saw you play cricket in Aanada college and captained SL and stood up to those who thought no other nation can play cricket better than them, you would ever end up in a such a cesspit to serve the nation.
Yes, get the project under way just in time in guise of something, to see if some votes of those who lost their lively hood working under the port project can be recovered, nothing else.