'We envision $ 50 b Int'l Port City in SL' - Song Jianhua, Chairwoman, SSLRI

As Sri Lanka-China trade topped $ 2.2 billion in 2011, an international port city in Hambanthota region to compete with Singapore, is proposed by a Beijing based private investment group with no less than $ 50 billion as envisaged project value. "We are looking at a 10 year time line for the $ 50 billion Hambanthota Trade City Project on the Public Private Partnership model. We are planning to implement it with the support of international investment and financial institutions" said Song Jianhua, Chairwoman of Sino-Sri Lanka Rich Investment (SSLRI) on yesterday.

Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen(far right) details Sri Lanka’s progress to the Sino-Sri Lanka Rich Investment’s delegation

Jianhua led the 13 member Chinese Business Delegation that arrived in Colombo as part of the overall 150 Chinese business delegation for the Sri Lanka Expo 2012 organized by the Export Development Board under the Ministry of Industry and Commerce. Her delegation comprised of powerful, state-of-art technology players in fertilizer, port development, energy, petrochemistry, cement, and machinery.

Clarifying about the $50 billion project value, which is seen by some analysts as almost equal to Sri Lanka's annual GDP, Jianhua responded, "The $ 50 billion value is no misnomer. This is a private public partnership at our end and we envisage an overall investment value of $ 50 billion over a 10-15 year period and we will proceed upon approval by the government of Sri Lanka. I am happy to inform you that this is not a sole Chinese entry-in fact it is a multinational effort in which investors from Singapore, Hong Kong and US are also joining the Chinese investors as lead investors. The main Chinese investors represent manufacturing and logistic sectors. But I should stress that the project timeline will also depend on the speed of approval."

"There will be other investments from us after the port city is established. Members of my delegation are also keen on real estate, black tea and jewellery once we process the port city. We also have the support of international investment and financial institutions. Most importantly, I believe that our efforts will boost Sri Lanka - China trade cooperation significantly" she added.

According to the Department of Commerce under the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, the total trade between Sri Lanka and China is on an upward trend. In 2011, the total bilateral trade value topped US $ 2239.43 million with the balance of trade in favour of China. Sri Lanka's exports to China, although still at a lower level, have increased from US $ 10.9 million in 2002 to US $ 104.06 million in 2011 which is an achievement considering the fact that only eight countries in Asia including Sri Lanka were able to maintain a positive export growth to China compared with 2008.

"It is too early to give specific details of the venture at the moment since we are in the initial stages" Jianhua said and added, "We had a good experience during this visit to Sri Lanka and believe the country has investment promise. We are committed to creating jobs and promote economic growth in Sri Lanka with our financial strength."