he Government today reiterated that giving the Hambantota Port to China was a wrong move.
State Minister of Finance and Capital Markets and Public Enterprise Reforms Ajith Nivard Cabraal told reporters today that the Hambantota Port was given to China by the former Government.
He said the former Government claimed it had no choice but to give the port because it was caught in a debt trap.
However, Cabraal said that the current Government feels the decision taken on the Hambantota Port was a wrong move and it will not follow a similar policy.
Cabraal was speaking at a virtual media conference on the Colombo Port City.
This is not the first time that the Government has been critical of the decision to give the Hambantota Port to China.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had also been critical of the move and had even considered renegotiating the deal with China.
Cabraal said that the Colombo Port City land belongs to Sri Lanka and only a part of it has been given to China on a 99-year lease.
Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardane signed and validated the Colombo Port City Economic Commission Bill this week.
Thereby the Colombo Port City Economic Commission Act will be implemented in full from this week.