Wednesday, 24th September 2014
Dharma Sri Abeyratne
Over 100,000 direct and indirect employment opportunities will be generated with the completion of Colombo Port City Development Project.
Construction work on the mega Colombo Port City Development Project commenced on September 17 under the patronage of Chinese President Xi Jinping and President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the Colombo International Container Terminal (CICT) premises.
Around 233 hectares of sea bed will be reclaimed by the project, which is implemented by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority and the Board of Investment (BOI) of Sri Lanka. Of this, 170 hectares have been identified as an area that can be developed and the balance 63 hectares allocated for common facilities such as a water area, roads and parks. An extent of 108 hectares from this reclaimed land is to be reserved for the company selected for this project, China Communications Constructions Company (CCCC), to cover its investment costs, marketing promotions costs and profits. The project proponent CCCC invests US $ 1,337 million as the total construction expenditure.
Construction work which will take eight years is carried out by over 2,000 local and Chinese personnel. Once completed, the project will generate over 100,000 direct and indirect jobs resulting in a huge economic boon.
Considering several feasibility studies carried out, it has been identified that Colombo City, which is the major economic centre should be developed as a modern city with all facilities parallel to the overall rapid development drives.
“The Colombo Port City Project, which covers 233 hectares has been planned in two stages to be completed in eight years,” a project official said.
“The proposed area will include all related facilities such as access roads, electricity, communication and all other infrastructure facilities together with landscaping constructions including lakes. The significant feature of the project is it changes the geography of the country and outlook of Colombo with the inclusion of 233 hectares added to the Sri Lankan map. Besides, the project extends immense strength to the government’s efforts to ensure continuity and dedication towards realizing the goal of making Sri Lanka, the most competitive and preferred maritime and logistics hub in the Asian region. The Colombo Port City will be a huge service area, for which a massive human resource is needed,”he added.
From : http://www.dailynews.lk/?q=local/colombo-port-city-development-project-generate-over-10000-jobs
