Sri Lanka’s prime minister will seek to restructure some of the cash-strapped island’s $8bn Chinese debt, Colombo said yesterday, as he met his Chinese counterpart in Beijing. As it faces a spiralling debt crisis that has forced it to seek a bailout from the IMF, Sri Lanka’s government is hoping to convert some of its loan burden into stakes in infrastructure projects.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe also hopes to resolve a dispute over a $1.4bn Chinese-built “Port City” in the Sri Lankan capital, State Enterprise Development Minister Eran Wickramaratne told reporters in Colombo.
The premier will seek to negotiate a $125mn government compensation claim from a Chinese firm over delays to the massive land reclamation project, Wickramaratne said.
The project represents the biggest single foreign investment received by the island and will add 233 hectares of real estate in the congested capital.
But it has been controversial as Beijing has been accused of seeking to develop facilities around the Indian Ocean in a “string of pearls” strategy to counter the rise of rival India and secure its own economic interests.  
Sri Lanka’s president suspended the plan shortly after taking power in January last year, before recommending last month that it be resumed.
Chinese foreign ministry official Xiao Qian told reporters after a meeting between Wickremesinghe and China’s Premier Li Keqiang that both sides agreed to “speed up” the project.
“On the Chinese side, we hope to see the earliest possible resumption. We believe we won’t have to wait too long,” he added.
The two also agreed to “give priority” to the construction of an industrial park at Hambantota Port, he said, without giving details.
During his Beijing visit, which ends tomorrow, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe will seek investment to revive loss-making white elephant projects commissioned by former strongman president Mahinda Rajapakse.
Rajapakse relied heavily on Chinese financing to rebuild the country’s infrastructure after the end of the island’s decades-long ethnic war in May 2009.
But the present administration has accused the previous government of agreeing to unfavourable terms for the loans.
President Maithripala Sirisena’s government temporarily halted all projects signed off by Rajapakse, who is under investigation over allegations of corruption during his decade in power.
“I believe your trip will give new impetus to relations. I’m willing to exchange views with you on bilateral ties and other issues of mutual concern,” Li told Wickremesinghe at the start of a closed-door meeting.
The two oversaw the signing of seven agreements, including an extradition treaty and a loan to extend a highway in southern Sri Lanka.