The Sri Lankan government yesterday insisted that a mega port city project has met some key conditions and has, therefore, been approved to resume work.
The approval for the project was given earlier this week after it remained suspended for a year.
Local environmental groups have raised concerns over the project and its impact on the environment.
However, Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake said the environment concerns over the project were cleared.
He said the government ensured the concerns, including those raised on the impact to the environment from the project, were addressed before the project was cleared to recommence work, Xinhua reported.
The $1.4bn project which will be the first of its kind in South Asia began construction adjacent to the Galle Face Green and near the Colombo Harbour in September 2014 under the previous
government.
However, it was suspended by the new government of President Maithripala Sirisena in March last year, six months after it began construction. The new government said that the project needed to be
reviewed.
The city is to be built on reclaimed land off Sri Lanka’s west coast and include a golf course, marinas, apartments, hotels and malls.
The project created disquiet in neighbouring India over the possibility China might be allowed outright land ownership. China’s influence in Sri Lanka makes India anxious because it considers the Indian Ocean region to be its
strategic backyard.
Chinese President Xi Jinping inaugurated the project during a visit in September 2014 during the tenure of former president Mahinda Rajapakse. At the time, Xi won Colombo’s support for a proposed maritime Silk Road link between China and Europe.
The leading company in the consortium building the port city is a major Chinese contractor, China Communications Construction Co.
Rajapakse relied heavily on China for infrastructure projects. During his administration, China provided loans for an airport, sea port, highways and power plants, and became the largest investor in Sri Lanka.
The decision to continue the port project is seen as an effort to reassure China.