AMN/ WEB DESK
A Sri Lankan media report has caused a fluster saying that 99 years lease of Hambantota port is extendable and that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was revisiting the Hambantota port deal.
The report quoting Sri Lankan Foreign Affairs Minister Dinesh Gunawardena revealed that previous Government had awarded the Hambantota Port to China not only on a 99-year lease, but also provided a provision for extension for another 99-year lease, as explained in the clauses of the agreement between the two countries.
“As we are implementing our policies giving much attention to all countries, the previous government made a mistake on the Hambantota port deal when they cancelled the lease and gave it on a longer period of 99 years plus another 99 years once the first term ends,” Gunawardena said.
The same newspaper reported in early February that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was revisiting the Hambantota port deal and that after many discussions recently with the Chinese officials, has relocated a Sri Lanka Naval base from the Chinese-controlled area of the port.
China on Wednesday termed the report running counter to the facts. Reacting on the report about the second 99-year lease clause and Sri Lankan President reviewing the deal, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said in Beijing, Hambantota port is a landmark project jointly undertaken by China and Sri Lanka under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and will play an active role in facilitating Sri Lanka’s economic growth and improving people’s lives.
To a question particularly asking whether China is opposed to re-negotiate the deal by the Sri Lankan government, Wang said “the relevant report runs counter to facts”. The Hambantota port agreement between Sri Lanka and China has run into controversies and seen huge protests in Sri Lanka.
Above mentioned report in early February quoted the Chairman of Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA), General Daya Ratnayake, as saying that President Rajapaksa after many discussions with the Chinese officials, has relocated a Sri Lanka Naval base from the Chinese-controlled area at the Hambantota port. “The Navy Base, according to the agreement, was on the Chinese leased land.
The President spoke to the Chinese and took the base to the Sri Lankan side,’ Ratnayake said. Hereafter, the Sri Lanka Navy will take control of the entire maritime area, under the supervision of the Sri Lanka Government, he said.
He also pointed out that Sri Lanka has not gained much from the Hambantota port and the government is holding talks to boost business. He stated that clauses in the port agreement were unclear and the President has been reviewing the deal since taking office in 2019. “We are revisiting the proposal even now. It was unfortunate and such a deal on the Hambantota Port shouldn’t have been done. But the review process is going on,” he added.
China is one of the biggest investors in various infrastructure projects in Sri Lanka. But there has been criticism, both locally and internationally, and growing concerns that Sri Lanka has landed into a Chinese debt trap. The 99-year lease of the Hambantota port to China has raised red flags about the downside of the BRI. Reports suggest several countries in Asia and Africa, including Pakistan, reeling under the mounting debt from China. Pakistan has opted for the USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) under the BRI.
Struggling to pay back over eight billion-dollar Chinese loans and investments, the previous Sri Lankan government has handed over the majority share of the Hambantota port to a Chinese state-owned company on a 99-year lease to raise USD 1.2 billion. As per reports, Pakistan is also seeking to reschedule as much as USD 22 billion loans.