Sri Lanka Government Hambantota Port Agreement Signed

Sri Lanka Government Hambantota Port Agreement Signed

Sri Lanka signed a US$1.4 billion deal today to lease the southern Hambantota port to China, after several months of delay caused by protests.

New Minister of Ports and Shipping Mahinda Samarasinghe in his opening remarks prior to the signing of the US$ 1.4 billion Agreement, said that the Agreement would be submitted to next Tuesday's Cabinet meeting and also to Parliament in a true spirit of transparency.

PM Wickremesinghe yesterday announced that the lease out agreement would be signed today. “We will sign the Hambantota agreement tomorrow (Saturday)...We are giving the country a better deal without debt,” PM Wickremesinghe told media on Friday.

The agreement had been signed with the presence of Minister of Ports and Shipping Mahinda Samarasinghe, Development Strategies and International Trade Minister Malik Samarawickrama, Finance and Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera, Special Projects Minister Sarath Amunugama, Ports and Shipping Deputy Minister Nishantha Mutuhettigama. Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Yi  Xianliang, Executive vice president of china merchant group Dr. Hu Jianhua, Counsul General Yang Zuo Yuan of the Chinese government and a group of government officials also presented.