China firm to build Sri Lanka's new port city

COLOMBO -- China Merchant International has already embarked on a $500 million port expansion project in the Colombo harbor, Priyath Bandu Wickrama, chairman of Sri Lanka Ports Authority, said on Tuesday.

Sri Lanka is expecting $15 billion in investment from a new "port city" that will be built on land reclaimed by the sea in the capital, the official said.

"China Harbour Engineering Corporation has already been given the contract for the project," he said.

The government hopes to commence work in October on the ambitious project that will reclaim 243 acres (98.4 hectares) from the sea near the Colombo port, according to Wickrama.

While addressing a forum in the capital, Wickrama noted that the investment was expected to flow in during the next ten years, mainly from hotels, apartments and shopping malls.

"A Formula One racetrack, mini-golf course and yacht marina are also among the plans that are expected to bring in billions of dollars," he added.

When the proposal was earlier announced in local media it drew objections from environmentalists who raised the issue of destroying the ecosystem on the coastal belt near some of the most expensive real estates in the country.