Sri Lanka, China to build first high-end CBD in South Asia

The Colombo International Financial City project, jointly developed by Sri Lankan government and a Chinese company, is now in the process of land reclamation, People’s Daily reports.

The project, built on reclaimed land off the coast of Sri Lanka's capital, aims to develop the first high-end Central Business District (CBD) in South Asia which can accommodate 250,000 people.

The total reclaimed area will be 269 hectares and the construction area will reach 5.65 million square meters.  The CBD, which include residential apartments, hotels, office buildings and shopping malls, is expected to be completed within 20 to 25 years.

The project, with a total direct investment of US$1.4 billion from China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), is an important project along the Belt and Road routes and will help enhance economic growth in Sri Lanka.

The PPP project is expected to create 83,000 new jobs in Sri Lanka and help the island country to attract another US$13 billion in investment, said Jiang Houliang, managing director at the China Harbor Engineering Company Port City Colombo (Pvt) Ltd., a subsidiary under the CCCC.

The project, formally known as Colombo Port City, began construction in September 2014. It was suspended in March 2015 but construction resumed one month later after a tripartite agreement was signed in August 2015.

Sri Lanka is striving to become a shipping, logistics and financial center in the Indian Ocean, and this development plan can be well integrated with China’s 21st Century Maritime Silk Road Initiative, said Yi Xianliang, Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka.

According to Yi, the project is so far the largest foreign investment in Sri Lanka.