No plans to sell Hambanthota Port to China, only leasing - PM

[Quibbler]

India's southern ports are direct competitors to Sri Lanka, so yes, there is an unofficial Indian sanction against it.

The concept of sanctions being unofficial is contradictory in itself.

On topic, India has never actively vied to be a intermidiate port in Indian ocean. If it had such an aim, it woyld have done so. We have no problems developing ports. We have no lack of strategic location and funding. So claiming very basic innocent competition between adjacent port sanctions is naive.

A credible poster would have atleast backed his claim of something as big as 'sanctions' with atleast a link asserting the same.

 

[Tshering22]

Point is, port is highly profitable if south asia dont boycott it. Indians intentionally sanctioned it.

There is no such thing as a sanction. SL is not our overseas territory and any transshipment that goes to Colombo can go completely independent off Indian bureaucracy.

Chennai and Tuticorin ports are strong competition but that's what businesses are; competition.

We cannot shut our ports to get them any additional leverage.

 

[Species]

India has never actively vied to be a intermidiate port in Indian ocean. If it had such an aim, it woyld have done so. We have no problems developing ports. We have no lack of strategic location and funding. So claiming very basic innocent competition between adjacent port sanctions is naive.

I don't think you have any idea what you're talking about.

Cochin Port sets sights on cargo through Colombo

 

[ohmrlobalobayeh]

India's southern ports are direct competitors to Sri Lanka, so yes, there is an unofficial Indian sanction against it.

even you acknowledge this fact- that Indian ports are direct competitors to Sri lanka's. So why blame Indian ports for Lankan inefficient management of its own ports? Thus, the solution is to bring in a competent Port Authority to run the show.

That's the only way to turn things round.

 

[Tshering22]

Now currently we are using Singapore for our 90 billion dollar trade. We can divert that to Srilanka and the port will be profitable over night. But whats we have in it?

What does your PM say about using Hambantota instead? There are no news reports of Bangladesh showing any interest in the project.

 

[Species]

What does your PM say about using Hambantota instead? There are no news reports of Bangladesh showing any interest in the project.

We have signed an agreement with SL to establish direct shipping link between Hambantota and Chittagong.

 

[ohmrlobalobayeh]

The concept of sanctions being unofficial is contradictory in itself.

On topic, India has never actively vied to be a intermidiate port in Indian ocean. If it had such an aim, it woyld have done so. We have no problems developing ports. We have no lack of strategic location and funding.

haha thanks i had a good one laughing at this.

Why would any coastal nation not strive to capture a larger pie of the international shipping business- if it had the abiltiy to do so? More like Indians are just as imcompetent as those running Hambanthota Port now.

Thus, your statement here makes no sense- at all.

Thanks.

 

[Tshering22]

haha thanks i had a good one laughing at this.

Why would any coastal nation not strive to capture a huge pie of the international shipping business? More like Indians are just as imcompetent

Thanks.

Umm... because we don't depend on transshipments alone as most of the goods are either entering or leaving our country..?

 

[ohmrlobalobayeh]

Umm... because we don't depend on transshipments alone as most of the goods are either entering or leaving our country..?

U are like saying : 'Money will be enough for me somehow- i will be satisfied and happy once i have XXX amount of money. Thus i dont need more money than that."

Hope u get the point. Thanks.

 

[Gibbs]

* No plans to sell Hambanthota Port to China, only leasing - PM
Thu, Apr 6, 2017, 12:00 pm SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.

Apr 06, Colombo: Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe says no plan has been drawn to sell the Hambantota harbor to a Chinese company.

"There is no preliminary draft regarding handing over the Hambanthota Port to anyone," the Premier said addressing the parliament Wednesday. He said the discussions are now on going to reach an agreement to operate the southern Port as a China-Sri Lanka joint venture.

The Prime Minister said during his visit to China he conveyed to the Chinese government that Sri Lanka cannot pay the loans taken by the previous government for the port and requested the loan to be written-off. The Chinese government has then suggested a China-Sri Lanka joint venture to operate the Southern Port, the Premier explained.

The Premier revealed these facts in response to a question raised by parliamentarian Dullas Alahapperuma.

He said the former Rajapakse regime had given the Hambantota harbor project outright to the Chinese company. However, there is a new agreement between the two governments now and the government has taken it back under a leasing system.

He said the government has to pay back $3.6 billion of debt taken during the previous regime and the government's aim is to provide relief to the people by minimizing the debt burden.

The Prime Minister also pointed out that the government agency that signed the agreement with the Chinese company was the Port Authority while it Urban Development Authority should be the responsible authority. "We need to appoint another committee to find why the Port Authority signed the agreement," he said.

The Premier promised to submit a report to the House on the agreement with China after reaching a final decision.

http://www.colombopage.com/archive_17A/Apr06_1491460218CH.php




i got to admit i laughed really hard when i read this. It's like placing a showhand bet at the casino table- and then telling the banker, after losing it all- 'I was just joking about my bet- can i take my chips?'

Sri lanka: im not gonna repay u the money, because the previous government did the borrowing, not us. Please forget about what we owe you.

Wtf? is there such a thing? this is unbecoming of a sovereign nation.

Friends are friends. Money is money. China is not a charity. More ever, the money in question is an astronomical sum- more than 8000000000 dollars.

During feudal or colonial times, wars would have been triggered to recover debts via various means due to debtor nation's sovereign liquidity reasons.

CHina has no reasons to do so, nor does it have any intentions of 'colonising' sri lanka. It only wants a port(not even a city, let alone a state or province). Furthermore, any Chinese presence will only add to Sri Lanka's security- not insecurity.

No one said it's for sale in the first place, Only the hysterical Indian media who shyts bricks whenever China is mentioned and those opportunistic Lankan politicians in the opposition said so

 

[Quibbler]

No one said it's for sale in the first place, Only the hysterical Indian media who shyts bricks whenever China is mentioned and those opportunistic Lankan politicians in the opposition said so

Source Srilankan. Writer Srilankan. No mention of India. Still you blame India. We will take in our stride and will be there to help sri lanka when needed even now.

OTOH chinese posters are even suggesting millitary action to recover dues that they geopolitically coerced.

 

[Quibbler]

U are like saying : 'Money will be enough for me somehow- i will be satisfied and happy once i have XXX amount of money. Thus i dont need more money than that."

Hope u get the point. Thanks.

Every country has a direction. Some are oil economies, some trade, some domestic consumption, some technology. Most of them mixtures. Our direction does not involve a port for international trade. Get over it.

PS - professional replies are much more efficient in getting the point across than teenage slang talk.

 

[Gibbs]

even you acknowledge this fact- that Indian ports are direct competitors to Sri lanka's. So why blame Indian ports for Lankan inefficient management of its own ports? Thus, the solution is to bring in a competent Port Authority to run the show.

That's the only way to turn things round.

Colombo is the main port in the region not Hambantota to start with, Hambantota was envisaged to be the major bunkering station rather than the main trasshipment hub, Atm Colombo ranks above all the other regional ports.. So it's not necessarily mismanagement but more due to corruption by the former regime to expedite the project as a white elephant project that has made it non profitable.. The Chinese are not to blamed here either, They made Investments, It's up to the hosts to make the investments profitable

Source Srilankan. Writer Srilankan. No mention of India. Still you blame India. We will take in our stride and will be there to help sri lanka when needed even now.

OTOH chinese posters are even suggesting millitary action to recover dues that they geopolitically coerced.

He was responding to a opposition politician, One has to be deaf and blind not to see the Indian media wetting their panties over the Hambantota port and other Chinese investments in Sri Lanka.. I could post dozens of articles on them here.. Should i ??

Some Chinese posters and their govt are different entities just like the Indian media and it's central govt.. After all PDF is full of prepubescent keyboard warriors of all kind.. If the world worked on their agenda's it may well be a Marvel or DC comic

 

[ohmrlobalobayeh]

Source Srilankan. Writer Srilankan. No mention of India. Still you blame India. We will take in our stride and will be there to help sri lanka when needed even now.

OTOH chinese posters are even suggesting millitary action to recover dues that they geopolitically coerced.

If you're refering to me, i said -

During feudal or colonial times, wars would have been triggered to recover debts via various means due to debtor nation's sovereign liquidity reasons.

CHina has no reasons to do so, nor does it have any intentions of 'colonising' sri lanka. It only wants a port(not even a city, let alone a state or province). Furthermore, any Chinese presence will only add to Sri Lanka's security- not insecurity.

wear glasses for your myopia.

thanks

Every country has a direction. Some are oil economies, some trade, some domestic consumption, some technology. Most of them mixtures. Our direction does not involve a port for international trade. Get over it.

PS - professional replies are much more efficient in getting the point across than teenage slang talk.

more like Indian imcompetency in developing international trade using its ports. Your evasiness of this point equates to a Chinese proverb:

'One who couldn't taste the sweet grapes for himself- then calls them sour'.

Teenage slang replies for teenage slang statements.

Thanks

 

[Shotgunner51]

Colombo is the main port in the region not Hambantota to start with, Hambantota was envisaged to be the major bunkering station rather than the main trasshipment hub, Atm Colombo ranks above all the other regional ports.. So it's not necessarily mismanagement but more due to corruption by the former regime to expedite the project as a white elephant project that has made it non profitable.. The Chinese are not to blamed here either, They made Investments, It's up to the hosts to make the investments profitable

Yes, Colombo is by far the crown jewel in the whole region, even so is still expanding to cater for rising demand, excellent business. Colombo International Container Terminals (CICT) has reported a throughput of 2 million teus for the 12 months ending 31st December 2016, achieving impressive YoY growth of 28%! I still remember I talked about CICT here on PDF back in early 2015, I was very optimistic about the project: https://defence.pk/threads/now-indi...olombo-lotus-tower.370141/page-7#post-7034739. Latest data shows Colombo in 2014 already reached 4.91 million TEU, maintains #1 largest port in South Asia, #30 worldwide, CICT was not fully operational yet. My estimate is that for 2016, it should've surpassed 6 million TEU, overtaking Yingkou, New York, Bremerhaven.

On Hambantota, in my opinion it's a business positioning issue, as you said it's bunkering station, perhaps some planners (all parties from SL and CN) didn't get the numbers right. I believe the guys are trying to turnaround the situation, wish them good luck!