Port City Colombo ෴ කොළඹ වරාය නගරය
Colombo International Financial City is a special economic zone and International Financial Centre located in Colombo, Sri Lanka, which is currently under construction on reclaimed land adjacent to the Galle Face Green. The land reclamation work had been completed as of January 2018. In 2017, the cost was slated to be US$ 15 billion. The project is part of China's Belt and Road initiative.
In May 2021, Parliament of Sri Lanka approved Port City Commission Bill to establish the Colombo Port City Special Economic Zone and Economic Commission. Under this law, companies can be exempt from all taxes, personal, corporate, excise, import, and every other tax for 40 years.
The finance city is to be constructed between the southern edge of the new Colombo South Port and the Fort Lighthouse. The total area of sea to be reclaimed is 269 ha (660 acres).
The Port City
The Port City was claimed to be a concept of former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was apparently inspired while inspecting the landfill being constructed for the Colombo South port. The modern Port City was in fact a fully solicited proposal submitted by China Harbour Engineering Company based on previous proposals.
The construction was set to begin in March 2011 but due to several circumstances the project was stopped. In mid 2012, the Sri Lankan Ports Authority (SLPA) announced that the construction of the then Colombo Port City project would commence on 17 September 2014. The budget was estimated to be $15 billion.
The reclamation was to be carried out by China Harbor Engineering Corporation, who has been engaged by the investor. 125 ha (310 acres) was the land was given to government as well as 88 ha (220 acres) while owned by the government was planned to be leased for 99 years to the Chinese company. 20 ha (49 acres) was planned to be given freehold to the Chinese company.
Construction of the Colombo Port City project was launched on 17 September 2014 by Former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Xi Jinping.
The port city has been criticised for several reasons. Many environmentalists claim that the port city contains many environmental hazards and the adverse environmental impact of the project would be far greater than the economic benefits it may have to offer. Maritime sector veterans also pointed out the dangers Sri Lanka may face due to giving outright ownership of land to China, especially in a high-security zone, and concerns about its effects on Sri Lanka's sovereignty have also been expressed. The project was also criticized for its lack of transparency and irregularities such as the involvement of SLPA which is implementing the reclamation project, had no mandate to do so as its mandate is to deal with ports and shipping.
The Colombo International Financial Centre
The port city was suspended after the fall of the Rajapaksa government due to issues related to sovereignty of Sri Lanka and adverse environmental impacts.
- The Colombo International Financial Centre will be governed by an independent authority and will not be subjected to the Colombo Municipal Council. A special legal framework would enable it to operate on a subset of commercial law, in terms of contracts and commercial transactions with its own Special Colombo oFinancial Court serving as the court of first instance and provision of appeal to the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. It would have its own arbitration centres.
