Several positive changes were made after the change of government with regard to the Hambantota Harbor agreement with Chinese counterparts said MP. Hambantota Namal Rajapaksa at a local TV show.
He said that the lease of the Harbour to China Merchants Port Holdings Company was very badly negotiated by the previous government and with the change of government last year several new clauses were added beneficial to Sri Lanka. On December 2017, the then Yahapalana government granted a 99-year concession over the commercial activities of the port of Hambantota to the Chinese company “China Merchants”.
He said that the wind power plant as well as the Navy detachment located in the Hambantota harbour premises had to pay huge sums as ‘rentals’ despite providing power and security to harbour itself. “However the present government renegotiated against this and today ‘huge rentals’ are no more.”
Similarly share percentage too has been renegotiated but more changes have to be renegotiated taking in to consideration that the ‘deal’ was inked under an international laws.
“I must say that due to the Hambantota harbor being taken out of total control of Sri Lanka several people living in the area lost their livelihoods and this cannot be reversed.”
The former President Mahinda Rajapaksa went to several countries seeking financial assistance to build the Hambantota Harbor (which was discussed to be executed by several previous governments) but only china responded.
Commenting on some of the other Port related deals executed under the previous government he said that some international agreements were confined to four page documents. “The Colombo ECT terminal too were haphazardly signed.”
Rajapaksa said that there was a mega plan to usher economic prosperity to the under developed and economically clod shouldered Hambantota, by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. “To meet this objective mega infrastructure projects like building a harbor, airport, highways and conventions halls were expedited. “It’s due to these infrastructure investments that global hotels chains like Shangri La and Anantara who sell their rooms over USD 200 along with other companies invested in the area bringing prosperity to the area.”
The value of building a second international airport at Mattala airport has now come to sharp focus but the former government used this facility to store paddy.
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