Sri Lankan Parliament passes Port City bill
The Sri Lanka Parliament has passed the Port City Economic Commission Bill, which officially declares 269 hectares of land reclaimed from the ocean and annexed to the city of Colombo as the country’s first special economic zone (SEZ) for services-oriented industries.
The bill was passed on Thursday with 149 votes in favour and 58 against.
Under the legislation, a President-appointed commission will be established to govern the SEZ. It will enable the businesses to operate in any recognized foreign currency within Port City. After the Port City bill was tabled in Parliament on April 8, 19 petitions were filed with the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka.
The Supreme Court’s ruling was delivered to Parliament on Tuesday, saying that the bill could be passed with a simple majority provided key clauses be amended to confirm with the country’s constitution.
Parliament debates were held on Wednesday and Thursday, following which a majority of lawmakers voted to approve the bill amended in line with recommendations by the Supreme Court.
Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa on Wednesday told Parliament that the Port City project would create 200,000 jobs in the first five years, with the majority going to Sri Lankan nationals. He said that the Port City bill provides a competitive framework to attract investment. Port City Colombo Director of Sales and Marketing Yamuna Jayaratne said that Sri Lanka already enjoys several advantages in the cost of doing business in comparison with established and mature services hubs such as Hong Kong and Dubai.
Colombo is planned to become a major financial and services hub in South Asia. The Srilankan parliament has approved a bill that gives more or less complete control of the Humbanthota port to China. Now the port which is located in the capital Colombo and covering 540 acres is an official Chinese territory.
The bill has allowed any currency to be used ( Read Yuan will be used ) in its territory. One assumes the 200,000 odd employees will be paid in Yuan. And you need a passport to enter the Chinese territory.
China is now 290 km from Kanyakumari. Very well. However both Sri Lanka and China from nowonwards must know that even the India will treat it as a Chinese base. In case of first sign of conflict anywhere on the Himalayan front or the Indian Ocean Region, this “ Chine base “ should be ready to face the ire of the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force. At that time no one should startsaying that this is not Chinese territory ….It will not be accepted
