Sri Lanka-India-Japan Eastern Container Terminal Project in Colombo Port in trouble
Posted on January 31st, 2021
Courtesy India Today
Sri Lanka PM Mahinda Rajapaksa on Sunday denied selling, leasing out or coming into any sort of an agreement with a foreign country over the Eastern Container Terminal.
espite reports of the Sri Lankan cabinet clearing the trilateral Eastern Container Terminal (ECT) project between Sri Lanka, Japan and India, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa on Sunday denied selling, leasing out or coming into any sort of an agreement with a foreign country over the Eastern Container Terminal.
Speaking to the media on Sunday, when asked about the ECT trilateral agreement with India and Japan, PM Rajapaksa said in Colombo, “There is no issue. We have not sold or leased this to anybody. This is under our control. If the trade unions came and spoke to me, I would have told them this. But, they are aware of this.”
“Our policy is not to sell any of our assets to anybody. The policy of selling our national assets to foreigners was the policy of the earlier government and not ours,” he added slamming the current opposition.
He further added, “Majority in the cabinet are also against selling our national assets to anybody.”
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Saturday issued an extraordinary gazette notification declaring Sri Lanka port operations as an “essential service”.
This announcement was made after port worker unions had decided to go on strike from Monday. They have been resisting the project since the time foreign countries (India, Japan) pitched to work on the up-gradation of the port.
Technically, the ownership lies with Sri Lanka; while India and Japan are only to manage the terminal. But, trade unions are refusing to move forward of there is any kind of foreign involvement.ADVERTISEMENT
In May 2019, Sri Lanka’s Maithripala Sirisena-Ranil Wickremesinghe administration signed a memorandum of cooperation (MoC) with India and Japan to jointly upgrade the terminal with the aim of enhancing Sri Lanka’s status as a maritime hub.
As per the MoC, the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) was to retain 100% ownership, while a jointly-owned Terminal Operations Company — 51% stake with Sri Lanka, and 49% with India and Japan — would run the terminal. Despite the tripartite understanding, the former government was unable to take the deal forward.
January 31st, 2021 at 7:29 pm
India is being used as a tool for world domination. The simple minds of people like Modi or MR cannot fathom this. Just because few Indians have got into top tech companies in the US, the ‘Mother of Technology’, that does not mean that they are not expendable. They are there because of their cheap and dependable character due to servitude ingrained in them. They will not jump from one employer to another with all the knowledge that they have gained in that place.
But, to my mind none of them are great innovators in the category of Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates or Richard Trimble (the GPS man).
These Indians can be replaced easily by the real workhorses at anytime. If they try world domination like at the ancient times, their country can easily get disintegrated. Is that not what is happening right now?.
February 2nd, 2021 at 11:28 am
.We can’t compare the Indian people with their stupid politicans.This divide is in every country. This divide is more in stupid third world that include India and SL,the reason why there’s so much poverty and corruption, mostly the corruption is by the ruling elite.
Like the Chinese the Indians are clever too, over decades and the number zeo was discovered by a person in South India (to me it sounded like zibor).No wonder the colonials took them to Africa in thousands to run their colonies and the decedent of them from East Africa is my accountant, very dedicated to his job.
There are thousands of Indian decent are in the top jobs in the government, that include the Home secretary. Head of Google and Nisan are of Indian decent.
Here in this most expensive part of London where I live has 4 supermarkets, our Tamil persons have got their own little supper market where they are competing well the big giants’ am yet to see a Sinhalese matching them here in UK.
Coming to this affair with the port, if it had to be modernized then if we can’t do it ourselves then we must give it to a company in Europe where their country demand transparency,not encourage bribery and corruption where their company could be brought to book in their courts.But are we that desperate to spend billions to put the country into debt, where currency is no more valuable with endless exchange controls, etc ?