Sri Lankan government invites India and other countries to develop Trincomalee harbor
Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has reportedly said the government has invited countries including India to develop part of the Trincomalee harbor.
Prime Minister Wickremesinghe has been quoted in the media saying that there is no agreement with India to develop the entire harbor.
“We don’t need to give Trinco habour to India. But anyone including India can develop part of the harbor,” Wickremesinghe has said.
The Premier has noted that both countries had had discussions about developing terminals, jetties and oil tanks in the Trincomalee harbor.
“But we only agreed about oil tanks so far; other companies can also develop oil tanks.”
According to Wickremesinghe, there is no issue of giving a terminal to them if they can carry out the transshipment business through the harbor.
He was speaking at an event to launch a report about development activities carried out by the government in the past two years.
Prime Minister Wickremesinghe had on an earlier occasion said that discussions were on with both India and Singapore for developing the Trincomalee harbour.
Meanwhile, India’s Foreign Secretary had reportedly stated that India will be assisting Sri Lanka to develop Colombo and Trincomalee ports.
OSL take:
The Prime Minister’s announcement on the invitation extended to foreign countries including India to develop the Trincomalee harbor would provide the opportunity for local businesses to enter into partnerships with foreign companies to bid for the projects or vice versa.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/31102017/Z_1 |