The Government today said it has received the second installment as part of the deal on the Hambantota Port
The Sri Lanka Ports Authority said it received 97.365 million US dollars from China Merchant Port Holdings as part of the second installment.
Last month the Government received US $ 292.1 million as the first payment for the port agreement.
Subsequent to the agreement signed between the Sri Lanka Ports Authority and China Merchant Port Holdings Co. Ltd., US $ 292.1 million had been credited to the US Dollar account of the Government of Sri Lanka maintained at the Central Bank of Sri Lanka as the initial payment for the lease.
The in Hambantota was formally handed over to a China-Sri Lanka joint venture company on December 9.
Following the signing of an agreement, the port operations was handed over to Hambantota International Port Group (HIPG) and Hambantota International Port Services (HIPS).
As per the agreement, after one month from the effective date 10% of investment value should be paid, 30% of value should be paid after 03 months and the remaining 60% of value should be paid within 06 months.
China Merchants Port Holdings Company Ltd. (CMPort) owns 85% and Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) owns 15% of the stake in Hambantota International Port Group Ltd. (HIPG), which will undertake the project identified to restructure the Hambantota Port development and transform it to be a commercially-viable national asset in collaboration with the SLPA with an envisaged investment of $794 million.
Hambantota International Port Services Ltd. (HIPS), which will own common user facilities, will be 58% owned by HIPG, and 42% by the SLPA.
Under the 99-year lease agreement, CMPort will agree to invest an amount of up to US$ 1.12 billion into Hambantota Port and Hambantota port and marine-related activities.
Courtesy: Colombo Gazette
