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Port City Bill: PM predicts USD 15 bn in investments within five years

Published

5 years ago

2021/05/20

By Saman Indrajith

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday told Parliament that the majority of members and the Chairman of the Colombo Port City Economic Commission would be Sri Lankans.

The amendments would be incorporated into the bill in line with public proposals and the recommendations of the Supreme Court at the committee stage of the debate, the Premier said, adding that some of those amendments would be on the basis of changes proposed by other political parties.

Moving the bill for the debate, the Prime Minister said: “It was on Sept 17, 2014 the foundation stone was laid for the Colombo Port City during my tenure as the President by President of People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping. That mega project now has added 268 hectares to the landmass of our country. It was added to the Colombo District by the former government. Today, we are at the doorstep of a massive number of opportunities to make use of that landmass for the development of our motherland. To achieve such objectives it is a must that we should introduce changes for the existing legal and financial frameworks to change their parameters so that there would be a flow of investments to the country via the Port City. It is incumbent on any government to make such adjustments. Through this bill being debated here today, we hope to introduce such changes. If we make such adjustments properly this country would attract around 15 billion US dollars’ worth of investments during the next five years, as predicted by economists both local and foreign. As per the estimates of those economists, during the first five years the project would generate around 200,000 job opportunities for the construction phase and around 83,000 other permanent jobs. The commission to be set up to manage the port city would serve as a single window service provider for the foreign investors coming to invest in the Port City. We plan to provide them with all required services and facilities so that the benefits of their investments may flow into the country.”

SJB Colombo District MP Dr Harsha de Silva: We are not against the Port City project. We too understand that we as a nation are on the verge of a quantum leap to development. We are a nation trapped in a middle-income earning status trap. We cannot move neither forward nor backward.

We must convert this country into a nation of people who draw high salaries by creating complex and sophisticated goods and services. For that purpose we must join the rest of the world.

Labour Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva: There are huge differences in content between the speeches made by opposition MP Dr Harsha de Silva and his other colleagues in the opposition. Dr De Silva stated clear and loud that this bill was progressive and they would not oppose it. Others in the opposition state that the Supreme Court had bludgeoned the draft bill.

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Sun directly overhead Mannar, Periyamadu, Puliyankulam, Welioya and Pulmoddai about 12.11 noon today (30)

Published

2 hours ago

2026/08/30

Priyan

The sun is going to be directly over the latitudes of Sri Lanka from 28th of August to 07th of September due to its apparent southward relative motion.

The nearest places of Sri Lanka over which the sun is overhead today (30) are Mannar, Periyamadu, Puliyankulam, Welioya and
Pulmoddai about 12.11 noon.

News

Lanka tracks 11 US-sanctioned Iranian tankers off coast

Published

4 hours ago

2026/08/30

Thilina Walpola

(AFP) Sri Lanka’s maritime authorities were monitoring a fleet of 11 US-sanctioned Iranian oil tankers just off the island’s southern coast, the foreign minister said Wednesday.

The tankers were spotted close to the Galle harbour where an Iranian frigate, IRIS Dena, was sunk by a US submarine in March, killing 104 sailors. Sri Lanka’s navy rescued 32 Iranian sailors from that frigate.

Iranian vessels have been in limbo, unable to return to their home port because of a US blockade.

Sri Lanka’s Foreign minister Vijitha Herath said the tankers were in international waters where they had freedom of navigation.

“These ships are away from our territorial waters… we have no hold on them, nor have we facilitated them,” Herath told AFP.

The military deployed reconnaissance aircraft and patrol boats to monitor the vessels outside Sri Lanka’s 12-nautical-mile territorial waters, a military official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

“There is no indication of any ship-to-ship transfer of oil or illegal discharge of pollutants, so there is no basis for Sri Lankan authorities to take action against them,” the official said.

Many Iranian merchant vessels moved east towards the Strait of Malacca and Singapore due to US sanctions, while several remained near Sri Lankan waters, authorities said.

Sri Lankan officials said Washington had not formally notified Colombo about sanctioned Iranian-flagged vessels

News

House to debate abolition of Chief of Defence Staff post

Published

4 hours ago

2026/08/30

Thilina Walpola

Parliament is to debate next Wednesday the Government’s proposal to abolish the post of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), with the Second Reading of the Chief of Defence Staff (Repeal) Bill scheduled for September 9.

The Bill seeks to repeal the Chief of Defence Staff Act No. 35 of 2009, which was introduced shortly after the end of the armed conflict.

According to Secretary General of Parliament Kushani Rohanadeera, Parliament will meet from September 8 to 11, with the business for the week approved by the Committee on Parliamentary Business chaired by Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne.

The debate on the Chief of Defence Staff (Repeal) Bill is scheduled to take place from 11.30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, following questions to the Prime Minister and other parliamentary business.

The CDS post was established under the 2009 Act as part of the country’s higher defence command structure.

On Tuesday, September 8, the House will consider two Orders published in Extraordinary Gazettes under the Motor Traffic Act from 11.30 a.m. to 5 p.m., followed by an Opposition motion at the adjournment.

On Thursday, September 10, Parliament will debate a Resolution under the Women’s Empowerment Act.

The final sitting day of the week, Friday, September 11, has been allocated from 11.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. for several Private Members’ Motions.

The motions will cover issues including regulation of the petroleum, fuel and water industries, measures to increase the birth rate, protection of the Diyagama Forest, pension deductions affecting Pirivena teachers, food-crop cultivation in mountainous areas, development of the Kithul industry and the establishment of a Faculty of Medicine at South Eastern University.

Questions at the adjournment will be taken up at the end of each sitting day.