The Colombo Port City Project, which covers 233 hectares has been planned for two stages and will be completed in eight years . The total land area for the project is 233 hectares and that area will totally be reclaimed from the sea. The proposed area will include all related facilities such as access roads, electricity, communication and all other infrastructure facilities together with landscaping constructions including lakes.
The significant feature of the project is it changes the geography of the country and outlook of Colombo with the inclusion of 233 hectares added to the Sri Lankan map. Besides, the project extends immense strength to the government’s efforts to ensure continuity and dedication towards realizing the goal of making Sri Lanka, the most competitive and preferred maritime and logistics hub in the Asian region. The work on the breakwater for the project commenced last October with a total investment of USD 15 billion.
Not less than 233 hectares of sea bed will be reclaimed by the project, which is implemented by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority and the Board of Investment (BOI) of Sri Lanka. Of this, 170 hectares have been identified as an area that can be developed and the rest of the 63 hectares have been allocated for common facilities such as water area, roads and parks. An extent of 108 hectares from this reclaimed land is to be reserved for the company selected for this project, China Communications Constructions Company (CCCC), to cover its investment costs, marketing promotions costs and profits. The project proponent CCCC invests US $ 1,337 million as the total construction expenditure.
From the extent of land thus reserved, some 20 hectares will be on free hold right basis and the balance 88 hectares on a 99 year lease basis. It is expected that around bout US $ 20 billion investment will be made in the second stage of the project within a period of 20 years. The entire construction will be carried out by the China Harbour Engineering Company.
The remaining 125 hectares of this reclaimed land will be under the purview of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA). The estimated cost of US$ 1.4 billion for the first phase of this project is to be invested by CCCC. (ST/KH)
