The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) has still to pay USD 554.33 million or RMB Yuan 673.43 to the developers of the Hambantota Port, China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) through Exim Bank of China and the loan servicing is being carried out by the General Treasury.
On the question of what the SLPA’s 15 per cent stake, in money terms, earned annually under the leasing agreement, while the Hambantota Port’s 85% was sold to the Chinese, the SLPA responded that the royalty received annually from the Hambantota port up to now equaled USD 100,000 (LKR and USD proportionately) based on the proportion of the USD and LKR revenue collected by the established company.
So far the GoSL has paid USD 352.38 million or RMB Yuan 26.94 million to CHEC for developing the Hambantota Port.
Ceylon Today, through RTI application, obtained details from the Ministry of Finance – Department of External Resources and the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) as both Ministries had dealt with the developing and leasing of the Hambantota Port to the Chinese Government.
Based on the RTI, the Phase 1 of the Hambantota Port development incurred USD 447 million obtained from Exim Bank China, while, the SLPA had spent Rs 5,862 million.
The first phase was initiated on 18 November 2010 and it was completed in 2017.
Thereafter, in 2017 the GoSL, unable to repay the debt taken from CHEC, offered the Hambantota Port on a 99-year lease to Chinese company known as China Merchant Port Holding Company Limited and the Finance Ministry took over finance dealings from Sri Lanka Ports Authority and still continues to pay the developers – the CHEC, though their General Treasury.
The GoSL failed to settle the old loan taken for the development even after it was leased for 99 years for 1.4 billion and that led the government to still pay the initial loan.
According to the RTI obtained from the SLPA, they are not carrying out the repaying of the Hambantota port loan based on the decisions taken by the Cabinet of Ministers.
(Ceylon Today)
