Sri Lanka, China presidents inaugurate Colombo Port City Project

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping launched the Colombo Port City Project here on Wednesday.

The project involves building a modern city on land reclaimed from the sea, reports the Lanka Page.

The project is being built at a cost of 1.5 billion dollars, which is said to be the largest single foreign direct investment for land development.

Once the project is completed, it will have the potential of attracting around five billion dollars globally, a government release said.

The construction of the port city is being carried out by the China Harbour Engineering Company under an MOU signed by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority with the China Communication Construction Company.

The proposed city will be built on 233 hectares (583 acres) of land reclaimed from the sea between the Colombo South Port and the Galle Face Green.

Once completed, the offshore city will have sport complexes, mini golf ground, housing and office complexes, luxury hotels and many other modern facilities.

The massive project is expected to generate thousands of direct and indirect job opportunities.

According to China Harbour Engineering Company over 70 percent of the workforce will be recruited from Sri Lanka for the project.