“Port City Colombo Special Economic Zone (SEZ)”

Why Invest in Sri Lanka

Why invest in Port City Colombo

FAQs

Why Invest in Port City Colombo

Port City Colombo
Special Economic Zone (SEZ)

The CPCEC Act of 2021 declares PCC as a SEZ. The PCC SEZ will be an engine for economic growth supported by quality infrastructure, complemented by attractive fiscal and non-fiscal incentives and a progressive legal and regulatory framework

  • The Colombo Port City Special Economic Zone (CPCSEZ) envisions to stimulate export of services and capital flows into Sri Lanka through a competitive regulatory environment; coupled with high quality modern infrastructure.
  • Port City Colombo (PCC) is a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) promoting ease of doing business for modern services
  • Colombo Port City Economic Commission to act as a single window facilitator 
  • Economically ring-fenced jurisdiction, permitting transactions in designated foreign currencies 
  • 100% foreign ownership 
  • Designed to be one of the most sustainable and livable cities in the region 
Colombo Port City
Economic Commission Act
Competitive Entry
& Operational Cost
Strategic Location
& Great Connectivity
High-quality
Low-cost Talent
High Quality of Living
Master-planned City
& Future-ready Infrastructure

Businesses Of Strategic Importance

Fiscal Incentives
25+ Years of Fiscal Incentives
for Both Businesses and Developers

Businesses of Strategic Importance (BSI)
will be eligible for exemptions and
concessions

Exemption Of Withholding And
Dividend Taxes

Minimizing transaction costs on repatriation to
augment returns for investors.

Exempted From Employment
Income Tax

Employees within PCC should be remunerated in
foreign currency and exempt from income tax.

Import Tariffs And Vat
Concessions 

Import tariffs and VAT on development
costs will be waived.

Economically Ring-fenced

Independent Financial System
Freely Transact in Designated Foreign Currency
  • Operate within a regulatory framework distinct from the domestic financial system.
Modern regulations, compliant with international standard setting bodies.
  • Greater flexibility without foreign exchange controls.
  • Compliant with Anti Money Laundering (AML)/ combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) best practices.
  • Capital needs to be raised overseas. 
  • Transactions in foreign currencies will minimize foreign exchange risk and hedging cost. 
  • Full capital and profit repatriation.

Investor Protection

Reinforcing Confidence
Comprises in-built investment protection mechanisms with multi-layer commitment.
Legal Provision for Investment Protection

The CPCEC Act provides that any license issued or concessions granted by the Commission will not be altered or withheld.

International Commercial  Dispute Resolution Center

Adopting internationally accepted rules of procedure for conciliation, mediation, adjudication, arbitration and any other alternate services for expeditious resolution of disputes; practiced by internationally experienced professionals.

Sri Lanka’s International  Commitment to Investment Protection
  • Sri Lanka has 25 active bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and 5 other treaties with investment provisions (TIPs).
  • International Investment Agreements (IIAs) provide protection guaranteed to foreign investments through the broad principles of Fair and Equitable Treatment, and guarantees against expropriation of assets.
Stabilization/ Economic Equilibrium Clause in Investment Agreement

Incorporated into the Project Agreements to protect APs from negative financial implications due to change in laws.

Why Invest in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka:
Gateway To South Asia

Sri Lanka is positioned at the geographic and political heart of the Indian Ocean. With a population of approximately 22 million it is situated between the Persian Gulf and Red Sea to the west and the Straits of Malacca and Sunda to the east. Sri Lanka is arguably the most strategically located nation in the region. Due to Sri Lanka's geopolitical position in the Indian Ocean, Sri Lanka is a sought-after investment destination by countries looking to penetrate Asia and the rest of the world.

The island’s strategic location off the southern coast of India along the main east-west Indian Ocean shipping lanes gives Sri Lanka a regional logistical advantage, particularly due to the region not offering deep-water ports comparable to what Sri Lanka offers. Sri Lanka has long been recognized as playing a crucial role in enhancing inter-regional trade and investment linkages. The country has been positioned as a strategic hub for accessing South Asia – one of the fastest growing regions in the world.

Connecting The Region

Sri Lanka sits at the centre of all major sea routes connecting the rest of the world with Asia.

With 218 of the global Fortune 500 companies, Asia's GDP stood at USD 31TN in 2020, and is expected to overtake the rest of the world by 2030.

South Asia represents one of the fastest growing regions with a burgeoning future workforce to tap into

Sri Lanka sits at the centre of all major sea routes connecting the rest of the world with Asia.

With 218 of the global Fortune 500 companies, Asia's GDP stood at USD 31TN in 2020, and is expected to overtake the rest of the world by 2030.

2014 TO 2018
7%
AVERAGE ANNUAL GROWTH &
GROWTH IS PROJECTED TO
AVERAGE 5.8% IN 2022 - NEARLY
TWICE AS FAST AS GLOBAL
AVERAGE1

WITH A MEDIAN AGE OF 32,
SOUTH ASIA WILL HAVE
150 MILLION
ACTIVE WORKFORCE BY 2030

HOME TO
60%
OF THE WORLD'S
POPULATION

2020
USD3.35
TRILLION2 COMBINED NOMINAL
GDP

A Growing Modern Economy

Sri Lanka's economic growth is starting to be driven by modern services such as ICT and branching away from traditional streams such as travel.

Sri Lanka in numbers
Surface Area

65,610 sq. km
Population

22,156 (2021)
Labour Force

8,826,287 (2021)
GDP

84.5 bn USD (2021)
Human Capital Index

0.60 (The highest in South Asia)

Compound Annual Growth Rates (CAGR)

12.7%
IN BANKING ASSETS FROM
2015 TO 2020
13.0%
ANNUAL AVERAGE
GROWTH IN THE ICT
SECTOR FROM 
2010 TO 2019
6.5%
IN EXPORTS FROM 
2015 TO 2019
12.7%
OF TOURIST ARRIVALS
FROM 2010 TO 2019

Sri Lanka :
Areas of Competitiveness

Business Environment

Sri Lanka represents a nation with a sound legal structure and stable political framework in play.

  • Strong legal system based on English common law
  • Strong bilateral ties with all major regional countries
  • Democratic republic governed by a stable administrations

Manufacturing and IT sectors that are evolving along with changes to global supply base

  • Strong economic diversification, ranked number one globally for island economies 
  • Ability to cater to and develop complex, high – skilled and high valued sectors
  • Sri Lanka gaining from global manufactures expanding their supply base for specialized products such as activated carbon, natural latex products, fabric and agricultural products. 

Availability of capital in a market encapsulated by a rigid governance framework

  • Sri Lanka has an efficient financial and money market. Regulation is stringently overseen and enforced by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, SEC and Insurance Board of Sri Lanka.
  • A secure, accessible and efficient payment system in place.
  • Financial institutions include a mix of local and international companies regulated strictly by the Central Bank.
  • The Colombo Stock Exchange consists of 287 listed entities which includes the trading of shares, corporate debentures and close ended funds.

Human Capital

The country boasts of a young, literate and dynamic workforce in the region.

  • 66.4% of the population below the age of 25
  • workforce primarily in service sector
  • 8.8 million labor pool
  • a well-established free education system
  • 92.3% one of the highest literacy rate in the region
  • 36,000 graduates from government universities (2021)
  • ranked highest regionally on the human development index (2021)

One of the fastest growing startup ecosystems and affordable talent pools

  • Top 10 in global ecosystem affordable talent
    10% year on year growth
    As of 2021, Sri Lanka’s startup ecosystem witnessed a year –on – year
    growth of 13%
  • No 3 Regional ecosystem affordable talent
    New technology parks
    The ministry of technology has commissioned five new technology parks which
    will include incubator facilities for startup establishment 

Infrastructure

Sri Lanka will be a beacon for modern and sustainable infrastructure whilst cultivating a vibrant and ever evolving technological ecosystem.

Ranked 2nd in the region for quality of infrastructure. Energy – usd16bn investment to expand the nation’s energy resilience with a key focus on renewables.

A Flourishing IT Sector

  • USD 1.8bn generated in 2018 USD 1.8bn generated in 20183
  • Only south Asian country to have acceded Budapest convention on cybercrimes.
  • 1st country in south Asia to trial 5g and 95% of the country is covered by 4g-lte network.
  • 45,000km of network built for fixed broadband and mobile services.
  • Ranked 14th within Asia and pacific on the network readiness.

Upgrading Connectivities

  • Three international airports A new airport terminal will add to passenger handling annum
  • Two international seaports The new seaport terminal will add further 3-5mn teu's to the capacity 
  • Ranked 21st best connected country
  • Ranked 18th best port in the world

Quality Of Life

Sri Lanka ranks amongst the top tourist destinations boasting a plethora of cultural and natural attractions.
  • Ranked  no. 1 in south Asia Under the human capital index by the World Bank.
  • Ranked  no. 1 in south Asia  for quality  of living
  • Sri Lanka leads in internet connectivity, anti-air pollution and social safety
  • Net coverage
  • Ranked 14th within Asia and pacific on the network readiness.5
A destination that truly offer s a wide experience for tourists
  • Consistently ranked as one of the top travel destinations in the world
  • Ranked amongst the top biologically diverse hotspots in the world
  • A multi-ethnic and multi religious country
  • Boasting a wide array of attractions such as pristine beaches whilst also offering a host of cultural and world heritage sites

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

  • ALL
  • PROJECT BACKGROUND
  • COMPANY BACKGROUND
  • INVESTOR RELATIONS
  • ENVIRONMENT

COMPANY BACKGROUND

Explain the ownership structure of CHEC Port City Colombo (Pvt) Ltd, the investment company of Port City.

COMPANY BACKGROUND

Does CCCC have the required financial and technical capability to undertake this investment?

COMPANY BACKGROUND

Has CCCC and CHEC done projects similar to this in the past?

COMPANY BACKGROUND

Is CCCC a black listed company by the World Bank?

PROJECT BACKGROUND

What are the overall objectives of the Colombo Port City Project?

PROJECT BACKGROUND

Why build a Port City at this location?

PROJECT BACKGROUND

How large is the Foreign Direct investment in Colombo Port City?

PROJECT BACKGROUND

What is the ownership arrangement of Port City between the Project Company and the Government?

PROJECT BACKGROUND

What are the permissible developments within the reclaimed land at Port City?

PROJECT BACKGROUND

Can the general public enjoy the benefits of Port City?

PROJECT BACKGROUND

What are the important commercial terms of the project?

PROJECT BACKGROUND

What is the likely timing for the Project?

PROJECT BACKGROUND

What are the main challenges to achieving these deadlines?

PROJECT BACKGROUND

Who will be responsible for managing common land and will investors need to contribute to these costs?

PROJECT BACKGROUND

Who are the main technical consultants retained by the Project Company for the various aspects of work?

PROJECT BACKGROUND

Has the Project Company used local experts?

INVESTOR RELATIONS

When would the Government and the Project Company likely to market their land holdings/interest to investors and will this be a coordinated effort?

INVESTOR RELATIONS

Are there any guidelines on building design and specification?

INVESTOR RELATIONS

Can foreigners own residential units in Sri Lanka? Can these be locally funded?

INVESTOR RELATIONS

What precautions have been taken to protect the reclaimed land and buildings thereon from natural disasters?

ENVIRONMENT

Was the Project suspended due to lack of adequate environmental safeguards?

ENVIRONMENT

Do you have the required licenses to carry out reclamation work and rock extraction in Sri Lanka?

ENVIRONMENT

What were the key restrictions imposed under the new Development Permit

ENVIRONMENT

Can it be proved that dredging by Port City does not cause coastal erosion?

ENVIRONMENT

What is the impact on fishing caused due to dredging?

ENVIRONMENT

How many cubic meters of rock stones will be required for the whole project?

ENVIRONMENT

From where will those rocks be obtained?

ENVIRONMENT

Will there be sufficient supply of rocks in Sri Lanka to cater to this demand?

ENVIRONMENT

What is the process followed to mine these rocks?

ENVIRONMENT

How much sand will be required for the whole project?

ENVIRONMENT

Can you elaborate on the Breakwaters, How high will it be? What are the benefits? Sustainability?

ENVIRONMENT

Has there been any study done to measure impacts due to sewerage disposal, water demand and supply, discharge of solid waste, traffic impact assessment due to Port City Project?

ENVIRONMENT

Has there any archeological impact assessment done on the project site seabed which is going to be reclaimed?

ENVIRONMENT

What will happen to the Galle Face green once the Port City is completed?

ENVIRONMENT

Is there a fishermen compensation scheme described in SEIA?

ENVIRONMENT

How much money is allocated to this scheme? Who shall provide the funds? How long will it be operated?

ENVIRONMENT

How will the money allocated for compensation be distributed among affected people? Who will be the responsible agency for that?

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Explain the ownership structure of CHEC Port City Colombo (Pvt) Ltd, the investment company of Port City.

    • CHEC Port City Colombo (Private) Limited (the Project Company) is a BOI approved Company specifically set up for the purpose of making a foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Colombo Port City Project. It is a 100% owned subsidiary of China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd (CHEC). China Communications & Construction Company (CCCC) which is the Parent Company of CHEC is listed on the Stock Exchanges of Shanghai and Hong Kong.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Does CCCC have the required financial and technical capability to undertake this investment?

    • Yes, CCCC has a ranking of 110 out of Global Fortune 500 companies with over 1 mn employees and US$ 105 billion in assets (larger than Sri Lanka’s GDP). It is ranked as the 4th largest contractor in the world according to ENR Magazine. CCCC is also China’s largest port design and Construction Company, the No 1 dredging company in the world and the No 1 manufacturer of container cranes, with 75% of world market share.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Has CCCC and CHEC done projects similar to this in the past?

    • Yes, such projects include:
    • The Hong Kong New Airport Platform Project: Listed among the top 10 construction projects of the 20th Century, CHEC undertook the excavation of 90 million cu. m to reclaim 1300 hectares, and built other infrastructure requirements for the airport.
    • The man-made island at Macau International Airport: This project saw the excavation and backfilling of 64 million m3 and Land formation area of 1.152 million square meters.
    • Hong Kong Zhuhai Macau Bridge: This 50 km long bridge and tunnel costing around $10 billion will link the west side of Hong Kong to Macau and the city of Zhuhai in the Guangdong province.
    • Hangzhou Bay Cross-sea Bridge, South China: Totaling 36km in length and 33m in width, the bridge is the longest sea crossing bridge in the world.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Is CCCC a black listed company by the World Bank?

    • The World Bank announced on 14th January 2009 debarring seven companies and one individual for alleged engagement of collusive pricing practices in a road project in the Philippines where bids were called in 2002. Among the companies debarred was China Road and Bridge Engineering Co Ltd (CRBC).

      CRBC became a wholly owned subsidiary of CCCC in 2005. CCCC did NOT own CRBC at the time of the dispute with the World Bank in 2002 and therefore cannot be directly or indirectly implicated in this matter, regardless of the merits of the allegation of price collusion.

      To date, CRBC has not received any claim or allegation raised by the Philippines Government as the owner of the road project.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the overall objectives of the Colombo Port City Project?

    • Colombo cannot become a destination that appeals to the international businesses or tourists with ad-hoc developments. Colombo Port City (CPC) provides an opportunity for the old and historic part of Colombo’s Central Business District (CBD) to interface as a modern planned metropolis. Accordingly, the key objectives of reclaiming 269 hectares of land are:
      • To create a regional business hub, with high quality public spaces and infrastructure facilities
      • To create a tourism hub with attractions such as shopping, culture and entertainment
      • Foster integrated living to provide high quality residential facilities and amenities such as parks, water sports, schools, hospitals etc.
      • To generate investments in real estate development and service sector jobs

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Why build a Port City at this location?

    • The reclamation of land at the proposed location is technically feasible because it is anchored against the 2.5 km long Colombo South Port breakwater. Taking advantage of the breakwater construction to create prime land makes sense because the breakwater acts as a natural location for sand accumulation (due to the sediment transport being from North to South).

      The Project will also expand the Central Business District (CBD) of Colombo 1 to accommodate the Colombo International Financial City (CIFC). Financial centres and related services in city’s such as Singapore, Dubai and Hong Kong usually expand in CBDs. Expanding Colombo’s CBD at any other location would not be possible due to lack of space; in addition, ocean-front CBD real estate has proven to generate greater demand by businesses and residents.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    How large is the Foreign Direct investment in Colombo Port City?

    • CPCC will be investing over US$ 1.4 billion (over Rs.210 billion), thereby making this the largest ever FDI project to be implemented in Sri Lanka so far. This excludes the additional investments to be made on real estate projects once the land is reclaimed.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What is the ownership arrangement of Port City between the Project Company and the Government?

    • All lands reclaimed by the Project Company shall be owned by the Urban Development Authority or any other agency nominated by the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL). Of the total of 269Ha reclaimed, the total saleable/marketable land of approximately 178 Ha is to be divided between the Project Company and GOSL. The Project Company would be allocated 116 Ha and GOSL 62Ha. The remaining 91 Ha is common area, also owned by the GOSL, which includes roads, parks, etc. (This does not include beaches of 13 ha and waterways of 80 ha), also owned by the GOSL.

      So, the Project Company will be able to enjoy commercial benefits from only 43% of the land reclaimed in order to recover its investment. The GOSL will lease the 116 ha of marketable land to the Project Company for 99 years, who will have the right to grant fresh 99 year leases to third party developers

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the permissible developments within the reclaimed land at Port City?

    • Port City will contain the following developments and businesses, undertaken by private local and foreign investors
      • The CIFC Building Complex: Comprising retail, residential and office
      • Other Commercial: Banks, offices and retail, hotels and restaurants
      • Residential: Houses, apartment buildings, serviced apartments
      • Institutions: Healthcare, educational and R& D institutions
      • Small businesses: Retail shops, open air trading areas, beauty salons, bakeries, laundries, printing, small scale art and handcraft and other services such as cafes, kiosks, newspaper stands, food trucks and book shops
      • Entertainment: Amusement park, theatre & music
      • Community: Art galleries, community centres
      • Water Sports: Marina and related facilities
    • In addition, the Project Company will build public parks of 45 hectares of public parks and an artificial beach of around 3 km. No Industrial activities will be allowed within Port City.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Can the general public enjoy the benefits of Port City?

    • Of course. Apart from the many thousands of jobs that will be generated, the general public can enjoy a 3 km long artificial beach, water sports and 45 ha of parks, which will be around 9 times larger than Galle Face Green and all other public spaces incorporated into the master plan

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the important commercial terms of the project?

    • The Port City Project is a Public-Private-Partnership.

      The Project Company will take the entire commercial risk of its investment and also invest in all internal infrastructure of the reclaimed area including roads, water supply etc. The GOSL is obliged to provide all utility and infrastructure connections to the periphery of the site. Under the new Agreement of 2016, the Government has the right to request the Project Company to enter into a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) for the provision of such infrastructure. At the moment, several such PPP projects in roads and utility provision are being examined and are under discussion.

      The marketable land lots will be divided between the Project Company and GOSL according to the following process: The Project Company will have the first right of selection of a block of land, followed by the Government selecting another. As the selection process is iterative, the land allocated to the Project Company will not be a contiguous area.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What is the likely timing for the Project?

    • We should be able to hand over first piece of land for building construction by mid 2018. The reclamation and required internal infrastructure will be completed by 2020

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the main challenges to achieving these deadlines?

    • The construction of breakwater can only be carried out during non-monsoon season. Therefore, the reclamation activities will be dictated by how fast we can build the breakwater.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Who will be responsible for managing common land and will investors need to contribute to these costs?

    • An Estate Management Company (EMC) will be set up as a JV between Project Company and GOSL.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Who are the main technical consultants retained by the Project Company for the various aspects of work?

    • A world class team of consultants has been assembled. International consultants include:
      • Planning and Infrastructure: (Sweco, ATKINS, Faithful+ Gould, Surbana Jurong, AECOM, CDR)
      • Real Estate (JLL, CBRE)
      • Legal ( Pinsent Masons)
      • Advertising and Promotion: (Ogilvy and Mather International , Word search)
      • Environmental protection: (icem)

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Has the Project Company used local experts?

    • Yes, many local engineers and technical and other experts are employed full-time by the Company. In addition, the services of the following local organizations have been used:
      • Planning and Infrastructure: (CECB, SWA)
      • Real Estate: ( TWCorp, RIU)
      • Legal : ( VARNERS , Colombo Law Alliance)
      • Advertising and Promotion : ( Phoenix Ogilvy)
      • Environmental Protection: ( LHI, University of Moratuwa, University of Peradeniya, NARA)

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    When would the Government and the Project Company likely to market their land holdings/interest to investors and will this be a coordinated effort?

    • The first phase of the master planned area (closest to Chaitya road) will be ready for building construction by middle of 2018. Therefore, marketing lands to investors will happen prior to that. The marketing of lands allocated to the GOSL and Project Company will be a coordinated effort to ensure fair valuation so as not to flood the market with excess land. The terms and conditions relating to this have been agreed in the Tripartite Agreement between the GOSL, UDA and the Project Company.

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    Are there any guidelines on building design and specification?

    • We have commissioned Surbana Jurong to prepare detailed Design Control Regulations (DCR). All development within Port City will need to adhere to the conditions stipulated in the DCR including certain parameters related to building design and specifications. Also the Port City Master Plan, once approved by the UDA, can only be changed by mutual consultation and agreement between the Project Company and the GOSL.

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    Can foreigners own residential units in Sri Lanka? Can these be locally funded?

    • Yes, foreigners can own residential condominium properties. The local law relating to foreigners owning residential properties or land applicable anywhere in Sri Lanka are applicable within Port City as well. At the moment, local banks could lend up to 40% of the value of the property to a foreigner. The remainder should be funded by foreign currency inward remittance.

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    What precautions have been taken to protect the reclaimed land and buildings thereon from natural disasters?

    • The Project Company’s international consultants have carried out the following engineering studies (among many more) during the planning, design and construction of Port City.

      Wave Climate Modelling: To study the wave climate of the proposed Ports City Development area and obtain design wave heights for off shore breakwater and revetments.

      Stability of Breakwaters: To study stability of breakwater under extreme wave attack. The test results indicate that the Port City breakwater will remain stable even during a 200 year wave event. The same design criterion was also used to design the breakwater of the Colombo South Port.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Was the Project suspended due to lack of adequate environmental safeguards?

    • In March 2015, the Project Company was informed that the GOSL wished to suspend the project construction and review the licenses obtained prior to commencing construction. The onus of obtaining and providing the relevant environmental approvals lies with the GOSL as per the signed Concession Agreement. Thereafter, in order to address the shortcomings of the EIA of 2012 carried out by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority, a comprehensive Supplementary Environmental Impact Assessment (SEIA) was carried out in 2015 by the Ministry of Megapolis, involving over 25 experts from many fields and reputed institutions.

      This study was made available to the general public for their comments for a period of 30 working days as required under the Law. Around 220 written submissions were sent by various associations, NGO’s environmentalists, fishermen and the general public. Responses to the public comments were evaluated by a Technical Evaluation Committee of over 30 persons and the Advisory Council of the Department of Coast Conservation & Coastal Resources Management. This resulted in the reclamation works commencing under a new Development Permit issued by the Department of Coast Conservation, the Project Approving Agency for the Supplementary EIA.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Do you have the required licenses to carry out reclamation work and rock extraction in Sri Lanka?

    • Yes, the Ministry of Megapolis & Western Development has obtained these licenses on behalf of the Project Company

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What were the key restrictions imposed under the new Development Permit

    • The project company would not dredge for sand in the site that is closer to the shore, but would instead dredge in another site, which is 5 kilometers from the coast line, thereby causing minimal if any disruption to normal coastal fishing activities. Project Company can only dredge for sand at depths of 15 meters or more. At this distance and depth, there are hardly any fish breeding grounds and also no possibility whatsoever of any coastal erosion.

      The maximum depth allowed for scraping sand is 2-3 meters from the seabed with a minimum 0.5 meters of sand preserved. This way, there will not be any concentrated dredging in one area causing disruption to fishing activity or permanent damage to the ocean floor and marine life.

      The Project Company has also been prohibited from dredging in any area that has been identified (with GPS coordinates stipulated by NARA) as being close to reef habitats, spawning areas, breeding areas and fishing grounds. In order to ensure safety, Dredging will follow a dredging plan and a schedule to enable fishing in all areas except a particular dredging cell for a short period of a few days. Fishermen will be educated on the route to be taken by dredgers in advance and warning lights and floating markers will be utilized to demarcate the route. This would be done to ensure that fishermen would be able to identify the area and undertake normal fishing. Dredging distances can be monitored by anyone live via the Internet.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Can it be proved that dredging by Port City does not cause coastal erosion?

    • This fact that coastal erosion cannot happen when dredging beyond the dynamic coastal zone (beyond 2 km from the shoreline) and at depths of more than 8 meters is a scientifically proven fact established by scientists throughout the world. Therefore, anyone claiming that dredging of sand carried out by Port City well in excess of these minimum limits – i.e. more than double the distance from the dynamic coastal zone and double the minimum depth of 8m – is an unsubstantiated statement.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What is the impact on fishing caused due to dredging?

    • The SEIA prohibited the dredging to be carried out in Site 1 (2km from shoreline and NARA recommended Site 2 (5km away from shoreline). Comparatively Site 2 had no well-developed reef system nor any form of sea grass beds. According to NARA, the sea bed comprised mainly of extended sandy habitats and commercially important demersal fish in the Site 2 area was scarce. According to NARA’s research it was found that Site 2 is mostly populated with pelagic fish. Sardinella, Anchovy, Mackerel, Barracuda are some of the species of pelagic fish, which means that these fish feed and breed in the water column and not close to the bottom nor near the shore. Therefore, dredging at the ocean bed has no significant effect on the fish in this area.

      Many of the fishermen stated that there are species of turtles present in this area. However, there has been no record of turtles laying eggs in this area since the 1900’s, but they may be visiting as a part of their migratory route and for food. Though the presence of turtles are rare, the main threat to them is not the dredgers but the fishing nets used by the fishermen themselves. This is because dredging is carried out using a “vacuum cleaning” method where the sand is scraped from the ocean floor with the dredger arm, usually 40 cm at a time. Therefore, a cavity or a hole is never formed as alleged by certain fishermen.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How many cubic meters of rock stones will be required for the whole project?

    • Approximately 3.85 million cubic meters.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    From where will those rocks be obtained?

    • From quarries approximately 48 km radius from the project site.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Will there be sufficient supply of rocks in Sri Lanka to cater to this demand?

    • Yes, rocks are mined from licensed quarries in Colombo and Gampaha District and only around 7% of the licensed quarries from this area are used for this purpose.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What is the process followed to mine these rocks?

    • As per the Central Environmental Authority (CEA), there are processes in place on mining rocks from licensed quarries. We are sourcing rocks from the selected suppliers who hold the license to operate quarries and follow the mining regulations set by Sri Lankan laws.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How much sand will be required for the whole project?

    • Approximately 65 million cubic meters

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Can you elaborate on the Breakwaters, How high will it be? What are the benefits? Sustainability?

    • The Breakwater is being built + 4m from mean sea level. The Breakwater is designed to protect the Port City from rising sea levels and high waves.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Has there been any study done to measure impacts due to sewerage disposal, water demand and supply, discharge of solid waste, traffic impact assessment due to Port City Project?

    • The detailed environmental impacts and mitigation measures connected to the above areas will be carried out in the Phase 2 EIA study that will have to be completed before any buildings are constructed on Port City. However, Chapter 2 pages 80-88 of the SEIA report provides a description of aspects relating to utilities and infrastructure. It needs to be pointed out that utility capacity will be created on the basis of actual demand for such services and therefore utility agencies will obtain a return for the services provided. In the case of road infrastructure, it is envisaged that the higher disposable income of those living and working within Port City will justify the investment in required road and public transport infrastructure to access the Central Business District of Colombo.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Has there any archeological impact assessment done on the project site seabed which is going to be reclaimed?

    • A separate archaeological impact assessment of the project site has been carried out by the Department of Archaeology. The findings of the study are presented in the report “Archaeological Impact Assessment for the Propose New Colombo Port City Development Project, Department of Archaeology of Sri Lanka, 2012”, provided as an Annex to the SEIA. Ship wrecks are not observed within the dredging site.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What will happen to the Galle Face green once the Port City is completed?

    • The SEIA states the Galle Face Green is roughly an area of 5.7 ha. Port City will create around 45 ha of park lands and a 13 ha artificial beach area, all for use by the general public. It is expected that the public spaces of Port City will have better facilities and layouts for small scale entrepreneurs and vendors than the present Galle Face.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Is there a fishermen compensation scheme described in SEIA?

    • No. There is no compensation to individuals, instead there is a livelihood improvement plan for the fishers in the Negombo fisheries district.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How much money is allocated to this scheme? Who shall provide the funds? How long will it be operated?

    • Rs.500 million. CHEC Port City Colombo (Private) Limited, the project company shall provide the funds. The proposed scheme shall be on operational for 3 years.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How will the money allocated for compensation be distributed among affected people? Who will be the responsible agency for that?

    • There will be no cash handouts. 18 programs have been identified with the assistance of the fishery associations to implement within next 3 years. Fishermen’s Livelihood Support Society Limited has been established to implement the programs. They will work under the supervision of Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development and the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Explain the ownership structure of CHEC Port City Colombo (Pvt) Ltd, the investment company of Port City.

    • CHEC Port City Colombo (Private) Limited (the Project Company) is a BOI approved Company specifically set up for the purpose of making a foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Colombo Port City Project. It is a 100% owned subsidiary of China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd (CHEC). China Communications & Construction Company (CCCC) which is the Parent Company of CHEC is listed on the Stock Exchanges of Shanghai and Hong Kong.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Does CCCC have the required financial and technical capability to undertake this investment?

    • Yes, CCCC has a ranking of 110 out of Global Fortune 500 companies with over 1 mn employees and US$ 105 billion in assets (larger than Sri Lanka’s GDP). It is ranked as the 4th largest contractor in the world according to ENR Magazine. CCCC is also China’s largest port design and Construction Company, the No 1 dredging company in the world and the No 1 manufacturer of container cranes, with 75% of world market share.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Has CCCC and CHEC done projects similar to this in the past?

    • Yes, such projects include:
    • The Hong Kong New Airport Platform Project: Listed among the top 10 construction projects of the 20th Century, CHEC undertook the excavation of 90 million cu. m to reclaim 1300 hectares, and built other infrastructure requirements for the airport.
    • The man-made island at Macau International Airport: This project saw the excavation and backfilling of 64 million m3 and Land formation area of 1.152 million square meters.
    • Hong Kong Zhuhai Macau Bridge: This 50 km long bridge and tunnel costing around $10 billion will link the west side of Hong Kong to Macau and the city of Zhuhai in the Guangdong province.
    • Hangzhou Bay Cross-sea Bridge, South China: Totaling 36km in length and 33m in width, the bridge is the longest sea crossing bridge in the world.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Is CCCC a black listed company by the World Bank?

    • The World Bank announced on 14th January 2009 debarring seven companies and one individual for alleged engagement of collusive pricing practices in a road project in the Philippines where bids were called in 2002. Among the companies debarred was China Road and Bridge Engineering Co Ltd (CRBC).

      CRBC became a wholly owned subsidiary of CCCC in 2005. CCCC did NOT own CRBC at the time of the dispute with the World Bank in 2002 and therefore cannot be directly or indirectly implicated in this matter, regardless of the merits of the allegation of price collusion.

      To date, CRBC has not received any claim or allegation raised by the Philippines Government as the owner of the road project.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the overall objectives of the Colombo Port City Project?

    • Colombo cannot become a destination that appeals to the international businesses or tourists with ad-hoc developments. Colombo Port City (CPC) provides an opportunity for the old and historic part of Colombo’s Central Business District (CBD) to interface as a modern planned metropolis. Accordingly, the key objectives of reclaiming 269 hectares of land are:
      • To create a regional business hub, with high quality public spaces and infrastructure facilities
      • To create a tourism hub with attractions such as shopping, culture and entertainment
      • Foster integrated living to provide high quality residential facilities and amenities such as parks, water sports, schools, hospitals etc.
      • To generate investments in real estate development and service sector jobs

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Why build a Port City at this location?

    • The reclamation of land at the proposed location is technically feasible because it is anchored against the 2.5 km long Colombo South Port breakwater. Taking advantage of the breakwater construction to create prime land makes sense because the breakwater acts as a natural location for sand accumulation (due to the sediment transport being from North to South).

      The Project will also expand the Central Business District (CBD) of Colombo 1 to accommodate the Colombo International Financial City (CIFC). Financial centres and related services in city’s such as Singapore, Dubai and Hong Kong usually expand in CBDs. Expanding Colombo’s CBD at any other location would not be possible due to lack of space; in addition, ocean-front CBD real estate has proven to generate greater demand by businesses and residents.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    How large is the Foreign Direct investment in Colombo Port City?

    • CPCC will be investing over US$ 1.4 billion (over Rs.210 billion), thereby making this the largest ever FDI project to be implemented in Sri Lanka so far. This excludes the additional investments to be made on real estate projects once the land is reclaimed.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What is the ownership arrangement of Port City between the Project Company and the Government?

    • All lands reclaimed by the Project Company shall be owned by the Urban Development Authority or any other agency nominated by the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL). Of the total of 269Ha reclaimed, the total saleable/marketable land of approximately 178 Ha is to be divided between the Project Company and GOSL. The Project Company would be allocated 116 Ha and GOSL 62Ha. The remaining 91 Ha is common area, also owned by the GOSL, which includes roads, parks, etc. (This does not include beaches of 13 ha and waterways of 80 ha), also owned by the GOSL.

      So, the Project Company will be able to enjoy commercial benefits from only 43% of the land reclaimed in order to recover its investment. The GOSL will lease the 116 ha of marketable land to the Project Company for 99 years, who will have the right to grant fresh 99 year leases to third party developers

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the permissible developments within the reclaimed land at Port City?

    • Port City will contain the following developments and businesses, undertaken by private local and foreign investors
      • The CIFC Building Complex: Comprising retail, residential and office
      • Other Commercial: Banks, offices and retail, hotels and restaurants
      • Residential: Houses, apartment buildings, serviced apartments
      • Institutions: Healthcare, educational and R& D institutions
      • Small businesses: Retail shops, open air trading areas, beauty salons, bakeries, laundries, printing, small scale art and handcraft and other services such as cafes, kiosks, newspaper stands, food trucks and book shops
      • Entertainment: Amusement park, theatre & music
      • Community: Art galleries, community centres
      • Water Sports: Marina and related facilities
    • In addition, the Project Company will build public parks of 45 hectares of public parks and an artificial beach of around 3 km. No Industrial activities will be allowed within Port City.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Can the general public enjoy the benefits of Port City?

    • Of course. Apart from the many thousands of jobs that will be generated, the general public can enjoy a 3 km long artificial beach, water sports and 45 ha of parks, which will be around 9 times larger than Galle Face Green and all other public spaces incorporated into the master plan

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the important commercial terms of the project?

    • The Port City Project is a Public-Private-Partnership.

      The Project Company will take the entire commercial risk of its investment and also invest in all internal infrastructure of the reclaimed area including roads, water supply etc. The GOSL is obliged to provide all utility and infrastructure connections to the periphery of the site. Under the new Agreement of 2016, the Government has the right to request the Project Company to enter into a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) for the provision of such infrastructure. At the moment, several such PPP projects in roads and utility provision are being examined and are under discussion.

      The marketable land lots will be divided between the Project Company and GOSL according to the following process: The Project Company will have the first right of selection of a block of land, followed by the Government selecting another. As the selection process is iterative, the land allocated to the Project Company will not be a contiguous area.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What is the likely timing for the Project?

    • We should be able to hand over first piece of land for building construction by mid 2018. The reclamation and required internal infrastructure will be completed by 2020

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the main challenges to achieving these deadlines?

    • The construction of breakwater can only be carried out during non-monsoon season. Therefore, the reclamation activities will be dictated by how fast we can build the breakwater.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Who will be responsible for managing common land and will investors need to contribute to these costs?

    • An Estate Management Company (EMC) will be set up as a JV between Project Company and GOSL.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Who are the main technical consultants retained by the Project Company for the various aspects of work?

    • A world class team of consultants has been assembled. International consultants include:
      • Planning and Infrastructure: (Sweco, ATKINS, Faithful+ Gould, Surbana Jurong, AECOM, CDR)
      • Real Estate (JLL, CBRE)
      • Legal ( Pinsent Masons)
      • Advertising and Promotion: (Ogilvy and Mather International , Word search)
      • Environmental protection: (icem)

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Has the Project Company used local experts?

    • Yes, many local engineers and technical and other experts are employed full-time by the Company. In addition, the services of the following local organizations have been used:
      • Planning and Infrastructure: (CECB, SWA)
      • Real Estate: ( TWCorp, RIU)
      • Legal : ( VARNERS , Colombo Law Alliance)
      • Advertising and Promotion : ( Phoenix Ogilvy)
      • Environmental Protection: ( LHI, University of Moratuwa, University of Peradeniya, NARA)

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    When would the Government and the Project Company likely to market their land holdings/interest to investors and will this be a coordinated effort?

    • The first phase of the master planned area (closest to Chaitya road) will be ready for building construction by middle of 2018. Therefore, marketing lands to investors will happen prior to that. The marketing of lands allocated to the GOSL and Project Company will be a coordinated effort to ensure fair valuation so as not to flood the market with excess land. The terms and conditions relating to this have been agreed in the Tripartite Agreement between the GOSL, UDA and the Project Company.

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    Are there any guidelines on building design and specification?

    • We have commissioned Surbana Jurong to prepare detailed Design Control Regulations (DCR). All development within Port City will need to adhere to the conditions stipulated in the DCR including certain parameters related to building design and specifications. Also the Port City Master Plan, once approved by the UDA, can only be changed by mutual consultation and agreement between the Project Company and the GOSL.

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    Can foreigners own residential units in Sri Lanka? Can these be locally funded?

    • Yes, foreigners can own residential condominium properties. The local law relating to foreigners owning residential properties or land applicable anywhere in Sri Lanka are applicable within Port City as well. At the moment, local banks could lend up to 40% of the value of the property to a foreigner. The remainder should be funded by foreign currency inward remittance.

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    What precautions have been taken to protect the reclaimed land and buildings thereon from natural disasters?

    • The Project Company’s international consultants have carried out the following engineering studies (among many more) during the planning, design and construction of Port City.

      Wave Climate Modelling: To study the wave climate of the proposed Ports City Development area and obtain design wave heights for off shore breakwater and revetments.

      Stability of Breakwaters: To study stability of breakwater under extreme wave attack. The test results indicate that the Port City breakwater will remain stable even during a 200 year wave event. The same design criterion was also used to design the breakwater of the Colombo South Port.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Was the Project suspended due to lack of adequate environmental safeguards?

    • In March 2015, the Project Company was informed that the GOSL wished to suspend the project construction and review the licenses obtained prior to commencing construction. The onus of obtaining and providing the relevant environmental approvals lies with the GOSL as per the signed Concession Agreement. Thereafter, in order to address the shortcomings of the EIA of 2012 carried out by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority, a comprehensive Supplementary Environmental Impact Assessment (SEIA) was carried out in 2015 by the Ministry of Megapolis, involving over 25 experts from many fields and reputed institutions.

      This study was made available to the general public for their comments for a period of 30 working days as required under the Law. Around 220 written submissions were sent by various associations, NGO’s environmentalists, fishermen and the general public. Responses to the public comments were evaluated by a Technical Evaluation Committee of over 30 persons and the Advisory Council of the Department of Coast Conservation & Coastal Resources Management. This resulted in the reclamation works commencing under a new Development Permit issued by the Department of Coast Conservation, the Project Approving Agency for the Supplementary EIA.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Do you have the required licenses to carry out reclamation work and rock extraction in Sri Lanka?

    • Yes, the Ministry of Megapolis & Western Development has obtained these licenses on behalf of the Project Company

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What were the key restrictions imposed under the new Development Permit

    • The project company would not dredge for sand in the site that is closer to the shore, but would instead dredge in another site, which is 5 kilometers from the coast line, thereby causing minimal if any disruption to normal coastal fishing activities. Project Company can only dredge for sand at depths of 15 meters or more. At this distance and depth, there are hardly any fish breeding grounds and also no possibility whatsoever of any coastal erosion.

      The maximum depth allowed for scraping sand is 2-3 meters from the seabed with a minimum 0.5 meters of sand preserved. This way, there will not be any concentrated dredging in one area causing disruption to fishing activity or permanent damage to the ocean floor and marine life.

      The Project Company has also been prohibited from dredging in any area that has been identified (with GPS coordinates stipulated by NARA) as being close to reef habitats, spawning areas, breeding areas and fishing grounds. In order to ensure safety, Dredging will follow a dredging plan and a schedule to enable fishing in all areas except a particular dredging cell for a short period of a few days. Fishermen will be educated on the route to be taken by dredgers in advance and warning lights and floating markers will be utilized to demarcate the route. This would be done to ensure that fishermen would be able to identify the area and undertake normal fishing. Dredging distances can be monitored by anyone live via the Internet.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Can it be proved that dredging by Port City does not cause coastal erosion?

    • This fact that coastal erosion cannot happen when dredging beyond the dynamic coastal zone (beyond 2 km from the shoreline) and at depths of more than 8 meters is a scientifically proven fact established by scientists throughout the world. Therefore, anyone claiming that dredging of sand carried out by Port City well in excess of these minimum limits – i.e. more than double the distance from the dynamic coastal zone and double the minimum depth of 8m – is an unsubstantiated statement.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What is the impact on fishing caused due to dredging?

    • The SEIA prohibited the dredging to be carried out in Site 1 (2km from shoreline and NARA recommended Site 2 (5km away from shoreline). Comparatively Site 2 had no well-developed reef system nor any form of sea grass beds. According to NARA, the sea bed comprised mainly of extended sandy habitats and commercially important demersal fish in the Site 2 area was scarce. According to NARA’s research it was found that Site 2 is mostly populated with pelagic fish. Sardinella, Anchovy, Mackerel, Barracuda are some of the species of pelagic fish, which means that these fish feed and breed in the water column and not close to the bottom nor near the shore. Therefore, dredging at the ocean bed has no significant effect on the fish in this area.

      Many of the fishermen stated that there are species of turtles present in this area. However, there has been no record of turtles laying eggs in this area since the 1900’s, but they may be visiting as a part of their migratory route and for food. Though the presence of turtles are rare, the main threat to them is not the dredgers but the fishing nets used by the fishermen themselves. This is because dredging is carried out using a “vacuum cleaning” method where the sand is scraped from the ocean floor with the dredger arm, usually 40 cm at a time. Therefore, a cavity or a hole is never formed as alleged by certain fishermen.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How many cubic meters of rock stones will be required for the whole project?

    • Approximately 3.85 million cubic meters.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    From where will those rocks be obtained?

    • From quarries approximately 48 km radius from the project site.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Will there be sufficient supply of rocks in Sri Lanka to cater to this demand?

    • Yes, rocks are mined from licensed quarries in Colombo and Gampaha District and only around 7% of the licensed quarries from this area are used for this purpose.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What is the process followed to mine these rocks?

    • As per the Central Environmental Authority (CEA), there are processes in place on mining rocks from licensed quarries. We are sourcing rocks from the selected suppliers who hold the license to operate quarries and follow the mining regulations set by Sri Lankan laws.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How much sand will be required for the whole project?

    • Approximately 65 million cubic meters

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Can you elaborate on the Breakwaters, How high will it be? What are the benefits? Sustainability?

    • The Breakwater is being built + 4m from mean sea level. The Breakwater is designed to protect the Port City from rising sea levels and high waves.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Has there been any study done to measure impacts due to sewerage disposal, water demand and supply, discharge of solid waste, traffic impact assessment due to Port City Project?

    • The detailed environmental impacts and mitigation measures connected to the above areas will be carried out in the Phase 2 EIA study that will have to be completed before any buildings are constructed on Port City. However, Chapter 2 pages 80-88 of the SEIA report provides a description of aspects relating to utilities and infrastructure. It needs to be pointed out that utility capacity will be created on the basis of actual demand for such services and therefore utility agencies will obtain a return for the services provided. In the case of road infrastructure, it is envisaged that the higher disposable income of those living and working within Port City will justify the investment in required road and public transport infrastructure to access the Central Business District of Colombo.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Has there any archeological impact assessment done on the project site seabed which is going to be reclaimed?

    • A separate archaeological impact assessment of the project site has been carried out by the Department of Archaeology. The findings of the study are presented in the report “Archaeological Impact Assessment for the Propose New Colombo Port City Development Project, Department of Archaeology of Sri Lanka, 2012”, provided as an Annex to the SEIA. Ship wrecks are not observed within the dredging site.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What will happen to the Galle Face green once the Port City is completed?

    • The SEIA states the Galle Face Green is roughly an area of 5.7 ha. Port City will create around 45 ha of park lands and a 13 ha artificial beach area, all for use by the general public. It is expected that the public spaces of Port City will have better facilities and layouts for small scale entrepreneurs and vendors than the present Galle Face.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Is there a fishermen compensation scheme described in SEIA?

    • No. There is no compensation to individuals, instead there is a livelihood improvement plan for the fishers in the Negombo fisheries district.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How much money is allocated to this scheme? Who shall provide the funds? How long will it be operated?

    • Rs.500 million. CHEC Port City Colombo (Private) Limited, the project company shall provide the funds. The proposed scheme shall be on operational for 3 years.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How will the money allocated for compensation be distributed among affected people? Who will be the responsible agency for that?

    • There will be no cash handouts. 18 programs have been identified with the assistance of the fishery associations to implement within next 3 years. Fishermen’s Livelihood Support Society Limited has been established to implement the programs. They will work under the supervision of Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development and the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Explain the ownership structure of CHEC Port City Colombo (Pvt) Ltd, the investment company of Port City.

    • CHEC Port City Colombo (Private) Limited (the Project Company) is a BOI approved Company specifically set up for the purpose of making a foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Colombo Port City Project. It is a 100% owned subsidiary of China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd (CHEC). China Communications & Construction Company (CCCC) which is the Parent Company of CHEC is listed on the Stock Exchanges of Shanghai and Hong Kong.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Does CCCC have the required financial and technical capability to undertake this investment?

    • Yes, CCCC has a ranking of 110 out of Global Fortune 500 companies with over 1 mn employees and US$ 105 billion in assets (larger than Sri Lanka’s GDP). It is ranked as the 4th largest contractor in the world according to ENR Magazine. CCCC is also China’s largest port design and Construction Company, the No 1 dredging company in the world and the No 1 manufacturer of container cranes, with 75% of world market share.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Has CCCC and CHEC done projects similar to this in the past?

    • Yes, such projects include:
    • The Hong Kong New Airport Platform Project: Listed among the top 10 construction projects of the 20th Century, CHEC undertook the excavation of 90 million cu. m to reclaim 1300 hectares, and built other infrastructure requirements for the airport.
    • The man-made island at Macau International Airport: This project saw the excavation and backfilling of 64 million m3 and Land formation area of 1.152 million square meters.
    • Hong Kong Zhuhai Macau Bridge: This 50 km long bridge and tunnel costing around $10 billion will link the west side of Hong Kong to Macau and the city of Zhuhai in the Guangdong province.
    • Hangzhou Bay Cross-sea Bridge, South China: Totaling 36km in length and 33m in width, the bridge is the longest sea crossing bridge in the world.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Is CCCC a black listed company by the World Bank?

    • The World Bank announced on 14th January 2009 debarring seven companies and one individual for alleged engagement of collusive pricing practices in a road project in the Philippines where bids were called in 2002. Among the companies debarred was China Road and Bridge Engineering Co Ltd (CRBC).

      CRBC became a wholly owned subsidiary of CCCC in 2005. CCCC did NOT own CRBC at the time of the dispute with the World Bank in 2002 and therefore cannot be directly or indirectly implicated in this matter, regardless of the merits of the allegation of price collusion.

      To date, CRBC has not received any claim or allegation raised by the Philippines Government as the owner of the road project.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the overall objectives of the Colombo Port City Project?

    • Colombo cannot become a destination that appeals to the international businesses or tourists with ad-hoc developments. Colombo Port City (CPC) provides an opportunity for the old and historic part of Colombo’s Central Business District (CBD) to interface as a modern planned metropolis. Accordingly, the key objectives of reclaiming 269 hectares of land are:
      • To create a regional business hub, with high quality public spaces and infrastructure facilities
      • To create a tourism hub with attractions such as shopping, culture and entertainment
      • Foster integrated living to provide high quality residential facilities and amenities such as parks, water sports, schools, hospitals etc.
      • To generate investments in real estate development and service sector jobs

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Why build a Port City at this location?

    • The reclamation of land at the proposed location is technically feasible because it is anchored against the 2.5 km long Colombo South Port breakwater. Taking advantage of the breakwater construction to create prime land makes sense because the breakwater acts as a natural location for sand accumulation (due to the sediment transport being from North to South).

      The Project will also expand the Central Business District (CBD) of Colombo 1 to accommodate the Colombo International Financial City (CIFC). Financial centres and related services in city’s such as Singapore, Dubai and Hong Kong usually expand in CBDs. Expanding Colombo’s CBD at any other location would not be possible due to lack of space; in addition, ocean-front CBD real estate has proven to generate greater demand by businesses and residents.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    How large is the Foreign Direct investment in Colombo Port City?

    • CPCC will be investing over US$ 1.4 billion (over Rs.210 billion), thereby making this the largest ever FDI project to be implemented in Sri Lanka so far. This excludes the additional investments to be made on real estate projects once the land is reclaimed.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What is the ownership arrangement of Port City between the Project Company and the Government?

    • All lands reclaimed by the Project Company shall be owned by the Urban Development Authority or any other agency nominated by the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL). Of the total of 269Ha reclaimed, the total saleable/marketable land of approximately 178 Ha is to be divided between the Project Company and GOSL. The Project Company would be allocated 116 Ha and GOSL 62Ha. The remaining 91 Ha is common area, also owned by the GOSL, which includes roads, parks, etc. (This does not include beaches of 13 ha and waterways of 80 ha), also owned by the GOSL.

      So, the Project Company will be able to enjoy commercial benefits from only 43% of the land reclaimed in order to recover its investment. The GOSL will lease the 116 ha of marketable land to the Project Company for 99 years, who will have the right to grant fresh 99 year leases to third party developers

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the permissible developments within the reclaimed land at Port City?

    • Port City will contain the following developments and businesses, undertaken by private local and foreign investors
      • The CIFC Building Complex: Comprising retail, residential and office
      • Other Commercial: Banks, offices and retail, hotels and restaurants
      • Residential: Houses, apartment buildings, serviced apartments
      • Institutions: Healthcare, educational and R& D institutions
      • Small businesses: Retail shops, open air trading areas, beauty salons, bakeries, laundries, printing, small scale art and handcraft and other services such as cafes, kiosks, newspaper stands, food trucks and book shops
      • Entertainment: Amusement park, theatre & music
      • Community: Art galleries, community centres
      • Water Sports: Marina and related facilities
    • In addition, the Project Company will build public parks of 45 hectares of public parks and an artificial beach of around 3 km. No Industrial activities will be allowed within Port City.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Can the general public enjoy the benefits of Port City?

    • Of course. Apart from the many thousands of jobs that will be generated, the general public can enjoy a 3 km long artificial beach, water sports and 45 ha of parks, which will be around 9 times larger than Galle Face Green and all other public spaces incorporated into the master plan

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the important commercial terms of the project?

    • The Port City Project is a Public-Private-Partnership.

      The Project Company will take the entire commercial risk of its investment and also invest in all internal infrastructure of the reclaimed area including roads, water supply etc. The GOSL is obliged to provide all utility and infrastructure connections to the periphery of the site. Under the new Agreement of 2016, the Government has the right to request the Project Company to enter into a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) for the provision of such infrastructure. At the moment, several such PPP projects in roads and utility provision are being examined and are under discussion.

      The marketable land lots will be divided between the Project Company and GOSL according to the following process: The Project Company will have the first right of selection of a block of land, followed by the Government selecting another. As the selection process is iterative, the land allocated to the Project Company will not be a contiguous area.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What is the likely timing for the Project?

    • We should be able to hand over first piece of land for building construction by mid 2018. The reclamation and required internal infrastructure will be completed by 2020

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the main challenges to achieving these deadlines?

    • The construction of breakwater can only be carried out during non-monsoon season. Therefore, the reclamation activities will be dictated by how fast we can build the breakwater.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Who will be responsible for managing common land and will investors need to contribute to these costs?

    • An Estate Management Company (EMC) will be set up as a JV between Project Company and GOSL.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Who are the main technical consultants retained by the Project Company for the various aspects of work?

    • A world class team of consultants has been assembled. International consultants include:
      • Planning and Infrastructure: (Sweco, ATKINS, Faithful+ Gould, Surbana Jurong, AECOM, CDR)
      • Real Estate (JLL, CBRE)
      • Legal ( Pinsent Masons)
      • Advertising and Promotion: (Ogilvy and Mather International , Word search)
      • Environmental protection: (icem)

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Has the Project Company used local experts?

    • Yes, many local engineers and technical and other experts are employed full-time by the Company. In addition, the services of the following local organizations have been used:
      • Planning and Infrastructure: (CECB, SWA)
      • Real Estate: ( TWCorp, RIU)
      • Legal : ( VARNERS , Colombo Law Alliance)
      • Advertising and Promotion : ( Phoenix Ogilvy)
      • Environmental Protection: ( LHI, University of Moratuwa, University of Peradeniya, NARA)

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    When would the Government and the Project Company likely to market their land holdings/interest to investors and will this be a coordinated effort?

    • The first phase of the master planned area (closest to Chaitya road) will be ready for building construction by middle of 2018. Therefore, marketing lands to investors will happen prior to that. The marketing of lands allocated to the GOSL and Project Company will be a coordinated effort to ensure fair valuation so as not to flood the market with excess land. The terms and conditions relating to this have been agreed in the Tripartite Agreement between the GOSL, UDA and the Project Company.

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    Are there any guidelines on building design and specification?

    • We have commissioned Surbana Jurong to prepare detailed Design Control Regulations (DCR). All development within Port City will need to adhere to the conditions stipulated in the DCR including certain parameters related to building design and specifications. Also the Port City Master Plan, once approved by the UDA, can only be changed by mutual consultation and agreement between the Project Company and the GOSL.

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    Can foreigners own residential units in Sri Lanka? Can these be locally funded?

    • Yes, foreigners can own residential condominium properties. The local law relating to foreigners owning residential properties or land applicable anywhere in Sri Lanka are applicable within Port City as well. At the moment, local banks could lend up to 40% of the value of the property to a foreigner. The remainder should be funded by foreign currency inward remittance.

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    What precautions have been taken to protect the reclaimed land and buildings thereon from natural disasters?

    • The Project Company’s international consultants have carried out the following engineering studies (among many more) during the planning, design and construction of Port City.

      Wave Climate Modelling: To study the wave climate of the proposed Ports City Development area and obtain design wave heights for off shore breakwater and revetments.

      Stability of Breakwaters: To study stability of breakwater under extreme wave attack. The test results indicate that the Port City breakwater will remain stable even during a 200 year wave event. The same design criterion was also used to design the breakwater of the Colombo South Port.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Was the Project suspended due to lack of adequate environmental safeguards?

    • In March 2015, the Project Company was informed that the GOSL wished to suspend the project construction and review the licenses obtained prior to commencing construction. The onus of obtaining and providing the relevant environmental approvals lies with the GOSL as per the signed Concession Agreement. Thereafter, in order to address the shortcomings of the EIA of 2012 carried out by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority, a comprehensive Supplementary Environmental Impact Assessment (SEIA) was carried out in 2015 by the Ministry of Megapolis, involving over 25 experts from many fields and reputed institutions.

      This study was made available to the general public for their comments for a period of 30 working days as required under the Law. Around 220 written submissions were sent by various associations, NGO’s environmentalists, fishermen and the general public. Responses to the public comments were evaluated by a Technical Evaluation Committee of over 30 persons and the Advisory Council of the Department of Coast Conservation & Coastal Resources Management. This resulted in the reclamation works commencing under a new Development Permit issued by the Department of Coast Conservation, the Project Approving Agency for the Supplementary EIA.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Do you have the required licenses to carry out reclamation work and rock extraction in Sri Lanka?

    • Yes, the Ministry of Megapolis & Western Development has obtained these licenses on behalf of the Project Company

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What were the key restrictions imposed under the new Development Permit

    • The project company would not dredge for sand in the site that is closer to the shore, but would instead dredge in another site, which is 5 kilometers from the coast line, thereby causing minimal if any disruption to normal coastal fishing activities. Project Company can only dredge for sand at depths of 15 meters or more. At this distance and depth, there are hardly any fish breeding grounds and also no possibility whatsoever of any coastal erosion.

      The maximum depth allowed for scraping sand is 2-3 meters from the seabed with a minimum 0.5 meters of sand preserved. This way, there will not be any concentrated dredging in one area causing disruption to fishing activity or permanent damage to the ocean floor and marine life.

      The Project Company has also been prohibited from dredging in any area that has been identified (with GPS coordinates stipulated by NARA) as being close to reef habitats, spawning areas, breeding areas and fishing grounds. In order to ensure safety, Dredging will follow a dredging plan and a schedule to enable fishing in all areas except a particular dredging cell for a short period of a few days. Fishermen will be educated on the route to be taken by dredgers in advance and warning lights and floating markers will be utilized to demarcate the route. This would be done to ensure that fishermen would be able to identify the area and undertake normal fishing. Dredging distances can be monitored by anyone live via the Internet.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Can it be proved that dredging by Port City does not cause coastal erosion?

    • This fact that coastal erosion cannot happen when dredging beyond the dynamic coastal zone (beyond 2 km from the shoreline) and at depths of more than 8 meters is a scientifically proven fact established by scientists throughout the world. Therefore, anyone claiming that dredging of sand carried out by Port City well in excess of these minimum limits – i.e. more than double the distance from the dynamic coastal zone and double the minimum depth of 8m – is an unsubstantiated statement.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What is the impact on fishing caused due to dredging?

    • The SEIA prohibited the dredging to be carried out in Site 1 (2km from shoreline and NARA recommended Site 2 (5km away from shoreline). Comparatively Site 2 had no well-developed reef system nor any form of sea grass beds. According to NARA, the sea bed comprised mainly of extended sandy habitats and commercially important demersal fish in the Site 2 area was scarce. According to NARA’s research it was found that Site 2 is mostly populated with pelagic fish. Sardinella, Anchovy, Mackerel, Barracuda are some of the species of pelagic fish, which means that these fish feed and breed in the water column and not close to the bottom nor near the shore. Therefore, dredging at the ocean bed has no significant effect on the fish in this area.

      Many of the fishermen stated that there are species of turtles present in this area. However, there has been no record of turtles laying eggs in this area since the 1900’s, but they may be visiting as a part of their migratory route and for food. Though the presence of turtles are rare, the main threat to them is not the dredgers but the fishing nets used by the fishermen themselves. This is because dredging is carried out using a “vacuum cleaning” method where the sand is scraped from the ocean floor with the dredger arm, usually 40 cm at a time. Therefore, a cavity or a hole is never formed as alleged by certain fishermen.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How many cubic meters of rock stones will be required for the whole project?

    • Approximately 3.85 million cubic meters.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    From where will those rocks be obtained?

    • From quarries approximately 48 km radius from the project site.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Will there be sufficient supply of rocks in Sri Lanka to cater to this demand?

    • Yes, rocks are mined from licensed quarries in Colombo and Gampaha District and only around 7% of the licensed quarries from this area are used for this purpose.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What is the process followed to mine these rocks?

    • As per the Central Environmental Authority (CEA), there are processes in place on mining rocks from licensed quarries. We are sourcing rocks from the selected suppliers who hold the license to operate quarries and follow the mining regulations set by Sri Lankan laws.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How much sand will be required for the whole project?

    • Approximately 65 million cubic meters

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Can you elaborate on the Breakwaters, How high will it be? What are the benefits? Sustainability?

    • The Breakwater is being built + 4m from mean sea level. The Breakwater is designed to protect the Port City from rising sea levels and high waves.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Has there been any study done to measure impacts due to sewerage disposal, water demand and supply, discharge of solid waste, traffic impact assessment due to Port City Project?

    • The detailed environmental impacts and mitigation measures connected to the above areas will be carried out in the Phase 2 EIA study that will have to be completed before any buildings are constructed on Port City. However, Chapter 2 pages 80-88 of the SEIA report provides a description of aspects relating to utilities and infrastructure. It needs to be pointed out that utility capacity will be created on the basis of actual demand for such services and therefore utility agencies will obtain a return for the services provided. In the case of road infrastructure, it is envisaged that the higher disposable income of those living and working within Port City will justify the investment in required road and public transport infrastructure to access the Central Business District of Colombo.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Has there any archeological impact assessment done on the project site seabed which is going to be reclaimed?

    • A separate archaeological impact assessment of the project site has been carried out by the Department of Archaeology. The findings of the study are presented in the report “Archaeological Impact Assessment for the Propose New Colombo Port City Development Project, Department of Archaeology of Sri Lanka, 2012”, provided as an Annex to the SEIA. Ship wrecks are not observed within the dredging site.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What will happen to the Galle Face green once the Port City is completed?

    • The SEIA states the Galle Face Green is roughly an area of 5.7 ha. Port City will create around 45 ha of park lands and a 13 ha artificial beach area, all for use by the general public. It is expected that the public spaces of Port City will have better facilities and layouts for small scale entrepreneurs and vendors than the present Galle Face.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Is there a fishermen compensation scheme described in SEIA?

    • No. There is no compensation to individuals, instead there is a livelihood improvement plan for the fishers in the Negombo fisheries district.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How much money is allocated to this scheme? Who shall provide the funds? How long will it be operated?

    • Rs.500 million. CHEC Port City Colombo (Private) Limited, the project company shall provide the funds. The proposed scheme shall be on operational for 3 years.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How will the money allocated for compensation be distributed among affected people? Who will be the responsible agency for that?

    • There will be no cash handouts. 18 programs have been identified with the assistance of the fishery associations to implement within next 3 years. Fishermen’s Livelihood Support Society Limited has been established to implement the programs. They will work under the supervision of Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development and the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Explain the ownership structure of CHEC Port City Colombo (Pvt) Ltd, the investment company of Port City.

    • CHEC Port City Colombo (Private) Limited (the Project Company) is a BOI approved Company specifically set up for the purpose of making a foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Colombo Port City Project. It is a 100% owned subsidiary of China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd (CHEC). China Communications & Construction Company (CCCC) which is the Parent Company of CHEC is listed on the Stock Exchanges of Shanghai and Hong Kong.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Does CCCC have the required financial and technical capability to undertake this investment?

    • Yes, CCCC has a ranking of 110 out of Global Fortune 500 companies with over 1 mn employees and US$ 105 billion in assets (larger than Sri Lanka’s GDP). It is ranked as the 4th largest contractor in the world according to ENR Magazine. CCCC is also China’s largest port design and Construction Company, the No 1 dredging company in the world and the No 1 manufacturer of container cranes, with 75% of world market share.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Has CCCC and CHEC done projects similar to this in the past?

    • Yes, such projects include:
    • The Hong Kong New Airport Platform Project: Listed among the top 10 construction projects of the 20th Century, CHEC undertook the excavation of 90 million cu. m to reclaim 1300 hectares, and built other infrastructure requirements for the airport.
    • The man-made island at Macau International Airport: This project saw the excavation and backfilling of 64 million m3 and Land formation area of 1.152 million square meters.
    • Hong Kong Zhuhai Macau Bridge: This 50 km long bridge and tunnel costing around $10 billion will link the west side of Hong Kong to Macau and the city of Zhuhai in the Guangdong province.
    • Hangzhou Bay Cross-sea Bridge, South China: Totaling 36km in length and 33m in width, the bridge is the longest sea crossing bridge in the world.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Is CCCC a black listed company by the World Bank?

    • The World Bank announced on 14th January 2009 debarring seven companies and one individual for alleged engagement of collusive pricing practices in a road project in the Philippines where bids were called in 2002. Among the companies debarred was China Road and Bridge Engineering Co Ltd (CRBC).

      CRBC became a wholly owned subsidiary of CCCC in 2005. CCCC did NOT own CRBC at the time of the dispute with the World Bank in 2002 and therefore cannot be directly or indirectly implicated in this matter, regardless of the merits of the allegation of price collusion.

      To date, CRBC has not received any claim or allegation raised by the Philippines Government as the owner of the road project.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the overall objectives of the Colombo Port City Project?

    • Colombo cannot become a destination that appeals to the international businesses or tourists with ad-hoc developments. Colombo Port City (CPC) provides an opportunity for the old and historic part of Colombo’s Central Business District (CBD) to interface as a modern planned metropolis. Accordingly, the key objectives of reclaiming 269 hectares of land are:
      • To create a regional business hub, with high quality public spaces and infrastructure facilities
      • To create a tourism hub with attractions such as shopping, culture and entertainment
      • Foster integrated living to provide high quality residential facilities and amenities such as parks, water sports, schools, hospitals etc.
      • To generate investments in real estate development and service sector jobs

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Why build a Port City at this location?

    • The reclamation of land at the proposed location is technically feasible because it is anchored against the 2.5 km long Colombo South Port breakwater. Taking advantage of the breakwater construction to create prime land makes sense because the breakwater acts as a natural location for sand accumulation (due to the sediment transport being from North to South).

      The Project will also expand the Central Business District (CBD) of Colombo 1 to accommodate the Colombo International Financial City (CIFC). Financial centres and related services in city’s such as Singapore, Dubai and Hong Kong usually expand in CBDs. Expanding Colombo’s CBD at any other location would not be possible due to lack of space; in addition, ocean-front CBD real estate has proven to generate greater demand by businesses and residents.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    How large is the Foreign Direct investment in Colombo Port City?

    • CPCC will be investing over US$ 1.4 billion (over Rs.210 billion), thereby making this the largest ever FDI project to be implemented in Sri Lanka so far. This excludes the additional investments to be made on real estate projects once the land is reclaimed.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What is the ownership arrangement of Port City between the Project Company and the Government?

    • All lands reclaimed by the Project Company shall be owned by the Urban Development Authority or any other agency nominated by the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL). Of the total of 269Ha reclaimed, the total saleable/marketable land of approximately 178 Ha is to be divided between the Project Company and GOSL. The Project Company would be allocated 116 Ha and GOSL 62Ha. The remaining 91 Ha is common area, also owned by the GOSL, which includes roads, parks, etc. (This does not include beaches of 13 ha and waterways of 80 ha), also owned by the GOSL.

      So, the Project Company will be able to enjoy commercial benefits from only 43% of the land reclaimed in order to recover its investment. The GOSL will lease the 116 ha of marketable land to the Project Company for 99 years, who will have the right to grant fresh 99 year leases to third party developers

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the permissible developments within the reclaimed land at Port City?

    • Port City will contain the following developments and businesses, undertaken by private local and foreign investors
      • The CIFC Building Complex: Comprising retail, residential and office
      • Other Commercial: Banks, offices and retail, hotels and restaurants
      • Residential: Houses, apartment buildings, serviced apartments
      • Institutions: Healthcare, educational and R& D institutions
      • Small businesses: Retail shops, open air trading areas, beauty salons, bakeries, laundries, printing, small scale art and handcraft and other services such as cafes, kiosks, newspaper stands, food trucks and book shops
      • Entertainment: Amusement park, theatre & music
      • Community: Art galleries, community centres
      • Water Sports: Marina and related facilities
    • In addition, the Project Company will build public parks of 45 hectares of public parks and an artificial beach of around 3 km. No Industrial activities will be allowed within Port City.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Can the general public enjoy the benefits of Port City?

    • Of course. Apart from the many thousands of jobs that will be generated, the general public can enjoy a 3 km long artificial beach, water sports and 45 ha of parks, which will be around 9 times larger than Galle Face Green and all other public spaces incorporated into the master plan

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the important commercial terms of the project?

    • The Port City Project is a Public-Private-Partnership.

      The Project Company will take the entire commercial risk of its investment and also invest in all internal infrastructure of the reclaimed area including roads, water supply etc. The GOSL is obliged to provide all utility and infrastructure connections to the periphery of the site. Under the new Agreement of 2016, the Government has the right to request the Project Company to enter into a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) for the provision of such infrastructure. At the moment, several such PPP projects in roads and utility provision are being examined and are under discussion.

      The marketable land lots will be divided between the Project Company and GOSL according to the following process: The Project Company will have the first right of selection of a block of land, followed by the Government selecting another. As the selection process is iterative, the land allocated to the Project Company will not be a contiguous area.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What is the likely timing for the Project?

    • We should be able to hand over first piece of land for building construction by mid 2018. The reclamation and required internal infrastructure will be completed by 2020

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the main challenges to achieving these deadlines?

    • The construction of breakwater can only be carried out during non-monsoon season. Therefore, the reclamation activities will be dictated by how fast we can build the breakwater.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Who will be responsible for managing common land and will investors need to contribute to these costs?

    • An Estate Management Company (EMC) will be set up as a JV between Project Company and GOSL.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Who are the main technical consultants retained by the Project Company for the various aspects of work?

    • A world class team of consultants has been assembled. International consultants include:
      • Planning and Infrastructure: (Sweco, ATKINS, Faithful+ Gould, Surbana Jurong, AECOM, CDR)
      • Real Estate (JLL, CBRE)
      • Legal ( Pinsent Masons)
      • Advertising and Promotion: (Ogilvy and Mather International , Word search)
      • Environmental protection: (icem)

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Has the Project Company used local experts?

    • Yes, many local engineers and technical and other experts are employed full-time by the Company. In addition, the services of the following local organizations have been used:
      • Planning and Infrastructure: (CECB, SWA)
      • Real Estate: ( TWCorp, RIU)
      • Legal : ( VARNERS , Colombo Law Alliance)
      • Advertising and Promotion : ( Phoenix Ogilvy)
      • Environmental Protection: ( LHI, University of Moratuwa, University of Peradeniya, NARA)

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    When would the Government and the Project Company likely to market their land holdings/interest to investors and will this be a coordinated effort?

    • The first phase of the master planned area (closest to Chaitya road) will be ready for building construction by middle of 2018. Therefore, marketing lands to investors will happen prior to that. The marketing of lands allocated to the GOSL and Project Company will be a coordinated effort to ensure fair valuation so as not to flood the market with excess land. The terms and conditions relating to this have been agreed in the Tripartite Agreement between the GOSL, UDA and the Project Company.

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    Are there any guidelines on building design and specification?

    • We have commissioned Surbana Jurong to prepare detailed Design Control Regulations (DCR). All development within Port City will need to adhere to the conditions stipulated in the DCR including certain parameters related to building design and specifications. Also the Port City Master Plan, once approved by the UDA, can only be changed by mutual consultation and agreement between the Project Company and the GOSL.

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    Can foreigners own residential units in Sri Lanka? Can these be locally funded?

    • Yes, foreigners can own residential condominium properties. The local law relating to foreigners owning residential properties or land applicable anywhere in Sri Lanka are applicable within Port City as well. At the moment, local banks could lend up to 40% of the value of the property to a foreigner. The remainder should be funded by foreign currency inward remittance.

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    What precautions have been taken to protect the reclaimed land and buildings thereon from natural disasters?

    • The Project Company’s international consultants have carried out the following engineering studies (among many more) during the planning, design and construction of Port City.

      Wave Climate Modelling: To study the wave climate of the proposed Ports City Development area and obtain design wave heights for off shore breakwater and revetments.

      Stability of Breakwaters: To study stability of breakwater under extreme wave attack. The test results indicate that the Port City breakwater will remain stable even during a 200 year wave event. The same design criterion was also used to design the breakwater of the Colombo South Port.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Was the Project suspended due to lack of adequate environmental safeguards?

    • In March 2015, the Project Company was informed that the GOSL wished to suspend the project construction and review the licenses obtained prior to commencing construction. The onus of obtaining and providing the relevant environmental approvals lies with the GOSL as per the signed Concession Agreement. Thereafter, in order to address the shortcomings of the EIA of 2012 carried out by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority, a comprehensive Supplementary Environmental Impact Assessment (SEIA) was carried out in 2015 by the Ministry of Megapolis, involving over 25 experts from many fields and reputed institutions.

      This study was made available to the general public for their comments for a period of 30 working days as required under the Law. Around 220 written submissions were sent by various associations, NGO’s environmentalists, fishermen and the general public. Responses to the public comments were evaluated by a Technical Evaluation Committee of over 30 persons and the Advisory Council of the Department of Coast Conservation & Coastal Resources Management. This resulted in the reclamation works commencing under a new Development Permit issued by the Department of Coast Conservation, the Project Approving Agency for the Supplementary EIA.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Do you have the required licenses to carry out reclamation work and rock extraction in Sri Lanka?

    • Yes, the Ministry of Megapolis & Western Development has obtained these licenses on behalf of the Project Company

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What were the key restrictions imposed under the new Development Permit

    • The project company would not dredge for sand in the site that is closer to the shore, but would instead dredge in another site, which is 5 kilometers from the coast line, thereby causing minimal if any disruption to normal coastal fishing activities. Project Company can only dredge for sand at depths of 15 meters or more. At this distance and depth, there are hardly any fish breeding grounds and also no possibility whatsoever of any coastal erosion.

      The maximum depth allowed for scraping sand is 2-3 meters from the seabed with a minimum 0.5 meters of sand preserved. This way, there will not be any concentrated dredging in one area causing disruption to fishing activity or permanent damage to the ocean floor and marine life.

      The Project Company has also been prohibited from dredging in any area that has been identified (with GPS coordinates stipulated by NARA) as being close to reef habitats, spawning areas, breeding areas and fishing grounds. In order to ensure safety, Dredging will follow a dredging plan and a schedule to enable fishing in all areas except a particular dredging cell for a short period of a few days. Fishermen will be educated on the route to be taken by dredgers in advance and warning lights and floating markers will be utilized to demarcate the route. This would be done to ensure that fishermen would be able to identify the area and undertake normal fishing. Dredging distances can be monitored by anyone live via the Internet.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Can it be proved that dredging by Port City does not cause coastal erosion?

    • This fact that coastal erosion cannot happen when dredging beyond the dynamic coastal zone (beyond 2 km from the shoreline) and at depths of more than 8 meters is a scientifically proven fact established by scientists throughout the world. Therefore, anyone claiming that dredging of sand carried out by Port City well in excess of these minimum limits – i.e. more than double the distance from the dynamic coastal zone and double the minimum depth of 8m – is an unsubstantiated statement.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What is the impact on fishing caused due to dredging?

    • The SEIA prohibited the dredging to be carried out in Site 1 (2km from shoreline and NARA recommended Site 2 (5km away from shoreline). Comparatively Site 2 had no well-developed reef system nor any form of sea grass beds. According to NARA, the sea bed comprised mainly of extended sandy habitats and commercially important demersal fish in the Site 2 area was scarce. According to NARA’s research it was found that Site 2 is mostly populated with pelagic fish. Sardinella, Anchovy, Mackerel, Barracuda are some of the species of pelagic fish, which means that these fish feed and breed in the water column and not close to the bottom nor near the shore. Therefore, dredging at the ocean bed has no significant effect on the fish in this area.

      Many of the fishermen stated that there are species of turtles present in this area. However, there has been no record of turtles laying eggs in this area since the 1900’s, but they may be visiting as a part of their migratory route and for food. Though the presence of turtles are rare, the main threat to them is not the dredgers but the fishing nets used by the fishermen themselves. This is because dredging is carried out using a “vacuum cleaning” method where the sand is scraped from the ocean floor with the dredger arm, usually 40 cm at a time. Therefore, a cavity or a hole is never formed as alleged by certain fishermen.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How many cubic meters of rock stones will be required for the whole project?

    • Approximately 3.85 million cubic meters.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    From where will those rocks be obtained?

    • From quarries approximately 48 km radius from the project site.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Will there be sufficient supply of rocks in Sri Lanka to cater to this demand?

    • Yes, rocks are mined from licensed quarries in Colombo and Gampaha District and only around 7% of the licensed quarries from this area are used for this purpose.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What is the process followed to mine these rocks?

    • As per the Central Environmental Authority (CEA), there are processes in place on mining rocks from licensed quarries. We are sourcing rocks from the selected suppliers who hold the license to operate quarries and follow the mining regulations set by Sri Lankan laws.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How much sand will be required for the whole project?

    • Approximately 65 million cubic meters

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Can you elaborate on the Breakwaters, How high will it be? What are the benefits? Sustainability?

    • The Breakwater is being built + 4m from mean sea level. The Breakwater is designed to protect the Port City from rising sea levels and high waves.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Has there been any study done to measure impacts due to sewerage disposal, water demand and supply, discharge of solid waste, traffic impact assessment due to Port City Project?

    • The detailed environmental impacts and mitigation measures connected to the above areas will be carried out in the Phase 2 EIA study that will have to be completed before any buildings are constructed on Port City. However, Chapter 2 pages 80-88 of the SEIA report provides a description of aspects relating to utilities and infrastructure. It needs to be pointed out that utility capacity will be created on the basis of actual demand for such services and therefore utility agencies will obtain a return for the services provided. In the case of road infrastructure, it is envisaged that the higher disposable income of those living and working within Port City will justify the investment in required road and public transport infrastructure to access the Central Business District of Colombo.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Has there any archeological impact assessment done on the project site seabed which is going to be reclaimed?

    • A separate archaeological impact assessment of the project site has been carried out by the Department of Archaeology. The findings of the study are presented in the report “Archaeological Impact Assessment for the Propose New Colombo Port City Development Project, Department of Archaeology of Sri Lanka, 2012”, provided as an Annex to the SEIA. Ship wrecks are not observed within the dredging site.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What will happen to the Galle Face green once the Port City is completed?

    • The SEIA states the Galle Face Green is roughly an area of 5.7 ha. Port City will create around 45 ha of park lands and a 13 ha artificial beach area, all for use by the general public. It is expected that the public spaces of Port City will have better facilities and layouts for small scale entrepreneurs and vendors than the present Galle Face.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Is there a fishermen compensation scheme described in SEIA?

    • No. There is no compensation to individuals, instead there is a livelihood improvement plan for the fishers in the Negombo fisheries district.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How much money is allocated to this scheme? Who shall provide the funds? How long will it be operated?

    • Rs.500 million. CHEC Port City Colombo (Private) Limited, the project company shall provide the funds. The proposed scheme shall be on operational for 3 years.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How will the money allocated for compensation be distributed among affected people? Who will be the responsible agency for that?

    • There will be no cash handouts. 18 programs have been identified with the assistance of the fishery associations to implement within next 3 years. Fishermen’s Livelihood Support Society Limited has been established to implement the programs. They will work under the supervision of Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development and the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Explain the ownership structure of CHEC Port City Colombo (Pvt) Ltd, the investment company of Port City.

    • CHEC Port City Colombo (Private) Limited (the Project Company) is a BOI approved Company specifically set up for the purpose of making a foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Colombo Port City Project. It is a 100% owned subsidiary of China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd (CHEC). China Communications & Construction Company (CCCC) which is the Parent Company of CHEC is listed on the Stock Exchanges of Shanghai and Hong Kong.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Does CCCC have the required financial and technical capability to undertake this investment?

    • Yes, CCCC has a ranking of 110 out of Global Fortune 500 companies with over 1 mn employees and US$ 105 billion in assets (larger than Sri Lanka’s GDP). It is ranked as the 4th largest contractor in the world according to ENR Magazine. CCCC is also China’s largest port design and Construction Company, the No 1 dredging company in the world and the No 1 manufacturer of container cranes, with 75% of world market share.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Has CCCC and CHEC done projects similar to this in the past?

    • Yes, such projects include:
    • The Hong Kong New Airport Platform Project: Listed among the top 10 construction projects of the 20th Century, CHEC undertook the excavation of 90 million cu. m to reclaim 1300 hectares, and built other infrastructure requirements for the airport.
    • The man-made island at Macau International Airport: This project saw the excavation and backfilling of 64 million m3 and Land formation area of 1.152 million square meters.
    • Hong Kong Zhuhai Macau Bridge: This 50 km long bridge and tunnel costing around $10 billion will link the west side of Hong Kong to Macau and the city of Zhuhai in the Guangdong province.
    • Hangzhou Bay Cross-sea Bridge, South China: Totaling 36km in length and 33m in width, the bridge is the longest sea crossing bridge in the world.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Is CCCC a black listed company by the World Bank?

    • The World Bank announced on 14th January 2009 debarring seven companies and one individual for alleged engagement of collusive pricing practices in a road project in the Philippines where bids were called in 2002. Among the companies debarred was China Road and Bridge Engineering Co Ltd (CRBC).

      CRBC became a wholly owned subsidiary of CCCC in 2005. CCCC did NOT own CRBC at the time of the dispute with the World Bank in 2002 and therefore cannot be directly or indirectly implicated in this matter, regardless of the merits of the allegation of price collusion.

      To date, CRBC has not received any claim or allegation raised by the Philippines Government as the owner of the road project.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the overall objectives of the Colombo Port City Project?

    • Colombo cannot become a destination that appeals to the international businesses or tourists with ad-hoc developments. Colombo Port City (CPC) provides an opportunity for the old and historic part of Colombo’s Central Business District (CBD) to interface as a modern planned metropolis. Accordingly, the key objectives of reclaiming 269 hectares of land are:
      • To create a regional business hub, with high quality public spaces and infrastructure facilities
      • To create a tourism hub with attractions such as shopping, culture and entertainment
      • Foster integrated living to provide high quality residential facilities and amenities such as parks, water sports, schools, hospitals etc.
      • To generate investments in real estate development and service sector jobs

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Why build a Port City at this location?

    • The reclamation of land at the proposed location is technically feasible because it is anchored against the 2.5 km long Colombo South Port breakwater. Taking advantage of the breakwater construction to create prime land makes sense because the breakwater acts as a natural location for sand accumulation (due to the sediment transport being from North to South).

      The Project will also expand the Central Business District (CBD) of Colombo 1 to accommodate the Colombo International Financial City (CIFC). Financial centres and related services in city’s such as Singapore, Dubai and Hong Kong usually expand in CBDs. Expanding Colombo’s CBD at any other location would not be possible due to lack of space; in addition, ocean-front CBD real estate has proven to generate greater demand by businesses and residents.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    How large is the Foreign Direct investment in Colombo Port City?

    • CPCC will be investing over US$ 1.4 billion (over Rs.210 billion), thereby making this the largest ever FDI project to be implemented in Sri Lanka so far. This excludes the additional investments to be made on real estate projects once the land is reclaimed.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What is the ownership arrangement of Port City between the Project Company and the Government?

    • All lands reclaimed by the Project Company shall be owned by the Urban Development Authority or any other agency nominated by the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL). Of the total of 269Ha reclaimed, the total saleable/marketable land of approximately 178 Ha is to be divided between the Project Company and GOSL. The Project Company would be allocated 116 Ha and GOSL 62Ha. The remaining 91 Ha is common area, also owned by the GOSL, which includes roads, parks, etc. (This does not include beaches of 13 ha and waterways of 80 ha), also owned by the GOSL.

      So, the Project Company will be able to enjoy commercial benefits from only 43% of the land reclaimed in order to recover its investment. The GOSL will lease the 116 ha of marketable land to the Project Company for 99 years, who will have the right to grant fresh 99 year leases to third party developers

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the permissible developments within the reclaimed land at Port City?

    • Port City will contain the following developments and businesses, undertaken by private local and foreign investors
      • The CIFC Building Complex: Comprising retail, residential and office
      • Other Commercial: Banks, offices and retail, hotels and restaurants
      • Residential: Houses, apartment buildings, serviced apartments
      • Institutions: Healthcare, educational and R& D institutions
      • Small businesses: Retail shops, open air trading areas, beauty salons, bakeries, laundries, printing, small scale art and handcraft and other services such as cafes, kiosks, newspaper stands, food trucks and book shops
      • Entertainment: Amusement park, theatre & music
      • Community: Art galleries, community centres
      • Water Sports: Marina and related facilities
    • In addition, the Project Company will build public parks of 45 hectares of public parks and an artificial beach of around 3 km. No Industrial activities will be allowed within Port City.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Can the general public enjoy the benefits of Port City?

    • Of course. Apart from the many thousands of jobs that will be generated, the general public can enjoy a 3 km long artificial beach, water sports and 45 ha of parks, which will be around 9 times larger than Galle Face Green and all other public spaces incorporated into the master plan

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the important commercial terms of the project?

    • The Port City Project is a Public-Private-Partnership.

      The Project Company will take the entire commercial risk of its investment and also invest in all internal infrastructure of the reclaimed area including roads, water supply etc. The GOSL is obliged to provide all utility and infrastructure connections to the periphery of the site. Under the new Agreement of 2016, the Government has the right to request the Project Company to enter into a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) for the provision of such infrastructure. At the moment, several such PPP projects in roads and utility provision are being examined and are under discussion.

      The marketable land lots will be divided between the Project Company and GOSL according to the following process: The Project Company will have the first right of selection of a block of land, followed by the Government selecting another. As the selection process is iterative, the land allocated to the Project Company will not be a contiguous area.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What is the likely timing for the Project?

    • We should be able to hand over first piece of land for building construction by mid 2018. The reclamation and required internal infrastructure will be completed by 2020

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the main challenges to achieving these deadlines?

    • The construction of breakwater can only be carried out during non-monsoon season. Therefore, the reclamation activities will be dictated by how fast we can build the breakwater.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Who will be responsible for managing common land and will investors need to contribute to these costs?

    • An Estate Management Company (EMC) will be set up as a JV between Project Company and GOSL.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Who are the main technical consultants retained by the Project Company for the various aspects of work?

    • A world class team of consultants has been assembled. International consultants include:
      • Planning and Infrastructure: (Sweco, ATKINS, Faithful+ Gould, Surbana Jurong, AECOM, CDR)
      • Real Estate (JLL, CBRE)
      • Legal ( Pinsent Masons)
      • Advertising and Promotion: (Ogilvy and Mather International , Word search)
      • Environmental protection: (icem)

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Has the Project Company used local experts?

    • Yes, many local engineers and technical and other experts are employed full-time by the Company. In addition, the services of the following local organizations have been used:
      • Planning and Infrastructure: (CECB, SWA)
      • Real Estate: ( TWCorp, RIU)
      • Legal : ( VARNERS , Colombo Law Alliance)
      • Advertising and Promotion : ( Phoenix Ogilvy)
      • Environmental Protection: ( LHI, University of Moratuwa, University of Peradeniya, NARA)

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    When would the Government and the Project Company likely to market their land holdings/interest to investors and will this be a coordinated effort?

    • The first phase of the master planned area (closest to Chaitya road) will be ready for building construction by middle of 2018. Therefore, marketing lands to investors will happen prior to that. The marketing of lands allocated to the GOSL and Project Company will be a coordinated effort to ensure fair valuation so as not to flood the market with excess land. The terms and conditions relating to this have been agreed in the Tripartite Agreement between the GOSL, UDA and the Project Company.

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    Are there any guidelines on building design and specification?

    • We have commissioned Surbana Jurong to prepare detailed Design Control Regulations (DCR). All development within Port City will need to adhere to the conditions stipulated in the DCR including certain parameters related to building design and specifications. Also the Port City Master Plan, once approved by the UDA, can only be changed by mutual consultation and agreement between the Project Company and the GOSL.

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    Can foreigners own residential units in Sri Lanka? Can these be locally funded?

    • Yes, foreigners can own residential condominium properties. The local law relating to foreigners owning residential properties or land applicable anywhere in Sri Lanka are applicable within Port City as well. At the moment, local banks could lend up to 40% of the value of the property to a foreigner. The remainder should be funded by foreign currency inward remittance.

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    What precautions have been taken to protect the reclaimed land and buildings thereon from natural disasters?

    • The Project Company’s international consultants have carried out the following engineering studies (among many more) during the planning, design and construction of Port City.

      Wave Climate Modelling: To study the wave climate of the proposed Ports City Development area and obtain design wave heights for off shore breakwater and revetments.

      Stability of Breakwaters: To study stability of breakwater under extreme wave attack. The test results indicate that the Port City breakwater will remain stable even during a 200 year wave event. The same design criterion was also used to design the breakwater of the Colombo South Port.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Was the Project suspended due to lack of adequate environmental safeguards?

    • In March 2015, the Project Company was informed that the GOSL wished to suspend the project construction and review the licenses obtained prior to commencing construction. The onus of obtaining and providing the relevant environmental approvals lies with the GOSL as per the signed Concession Agreement. Thereafter, in order to address the shortcomings of the EIA of 2012 carried out by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority, a comprehensive Supplementary Environmental Impact Assessment (SEIA) was carried out in 2015 by the Ministry of Megapolis, involving over 25 experts from many fields and reputed institutions.

      This study was made available to the general public for their comments for a period of 30 working days as required under the Law. Around 220 written submissions were sent by various associations, NGO’s environmentalists, fishermen and the general public. Responses to the public comments were evaluated by a Technical Evaluation Committee of over 30 persons and the Advisory Council of the Department of Coast Conservation & Coastal Resources Management. This resulted in the reclamation works commencing under a new Development Permit issued by the Department of Coast Conservation, the Project Approving Agency for the Supplementary EIA.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Do you have the required licenses to carry out reclamation work and rock extraction in Sri Lanka?

    • Yes, the Ministry of Megapolis & Western Development has obtained these licenses on behalf of the Project Company

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What were the key restrictions imposed under the new Development Permit

    • The project company would not dredge for sand in the site that is closer to the shore, but would instead dredge in another site, which is 5 kilometers from the coast line, thereby causing minimal if any disruption to normal coastal fishing activities. Project Company can only dredge for sand at depths of 15 meters or more. At this distance and depth, there are hardly any fish breeding grounds and also no possibility whatsoever of any coastal erosion.

      The maximum depth allowed for scraping sand is 2-3 meters from the seabed with a minimum 0.5 meters of sand preserved. This way, there will not be any concentrated dredging in one area causing disruption to fishing activity or permanent damage to the ocean floor and marine life.

      The Project Company has also been prohibited from dredging in any area that has been identified (with GPS coordinates stipulated by NARA) as being close to reef habitats, spawning areas, breeding areas and fishing grounds. In order to ensure safety, Dredging will follow a dredging plan and a schedule to enable fishing in all areas except a particular dredging cell for a short period of a few days. Fishermen will be educated on the route to be taken by dredgers in advance and warning lights and floating markers will be utilized to demarcate the route. This would be done to ensure that fishermen would be able to identify the area and undertake normal fishing. Dredging distances can be monitored by anyone live via the Internet.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Can it be proved that dredging by Port City does not cause coastal erosion?

    • This fact that coastal erosion cannot happen when dredging beyond the dynamic coastal zone (beyond 2 km from the shoreline) and at depths of more than 8 meters is a scientifically proven fact established by scientists throughout the world. Therefore, anyone claiming that dredging of sand carried out by Port City well in excess of these minimum limits – i.e. more than double the distance from the dynamic coastal zone and double the minimum depth of 8m – is an unsubstantiated statement.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What is the impact on fishing caused due to dredging?

    • The SEIA prohibited the dredging to be carried out in Site 1 (2km from shoreline and NARA recommended Site 2 (5km away from shoreline). Comparatively Site 2 had no well-developed reef system nor any form of sea grass beds. According to NARA, the sea bed comprised mainly of extended sandy habitats and commercially important demersal fish in the Site 2 area was scarce. According to NARA’s research it was found that Site 2 is mostly populated with pelagic fish. Sardinella, Anchovy, Mackerel, Barracuda are some of the species of pelagic fish, which means that these fish feed and breed in the water column and not close to the bottom nor near the shore. Therefore, dredging at the ocean bed has no significant effect on the fish in this area.

      Many of the fishermen stated that there are species of turtles present in this area. However, there has been no record of turtles laying eggs in this area since the 1900’s, but they may be visiting as a part of their migratory route and for food. Though the presence of turtles are rare, the main threat to them is not the dredgers but the fishing nets used by the fishermen themselves. This is because dredging is carried out using a “vacuum cleaning” method where the sand is scraped from the ocean floor with the dredger arm, usually 40 cm at a time. Therefore, a cavity or a hole is never formed as alleged by certain fishermen.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How many cubic meters of rock stones will be required for the whole project?

    • Approximately 3.85 million cubic meters.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    From where will those rocks be obtained?

    • From quarries approximately 48 km radius from the project site.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Will there be sufficient supply of rocks in Sri Lanka to cater to this demand?

    • Yes, rocks are mined from licensed quarries in Colombo and Gampaha District and only around 7% of the licensed quarries from this area are used for this purpose.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What is the process followed to mine these rocks?

    • As per the Central Environmental Authority (CEA), there are processes in place on mining rocks from licensed quarries. We are sourcing rocks from the selected suppliers who hold the license to operate quarries and follow the mining regulations set by Sri Lankan laws.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How much sand will be required for the whole project?

    • Approximately 65 million cubic meters

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Can you elaborate on the Breakwaters, How high will it be? What are the benefits? Sustainability?

    • The Breakwater is being built + 4m from mean sea level. The Breakwater is designed to protect the Port City from rising sea levels and high waves.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Has there been any study done to measure impacts due to sewerage disposal, water demand and supply, discharge of solid waste, traffic impact assessment due to Port City Project?

    • The detailed environmental impacts and mitigation measures connected to the above areas will be carried out in the Phase 2 EIA study that will have to be completed before any buildings are constructed on Port City. However, Chapter 2 pages 80-88 of the SEIA report provides a description of aspects relating to utilities and infrastructure. It needs to be pointed out that utility capacity will be created on the basis of actual demand for such services and therefore utility agencies will obtain a return for the services provided. In the case of road infrastructure, it is envisaged that the higher disposable income of those living and working within Port City will justify the investment in required road and public transport infrastructure to access the Central Business District of Colombo.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Has there any archeological impact assessment done on the project site seabed which is going to be reclaimed?

    • A separate archaeological impact assessment of the project site has been carried out by the Department of Archaeology. The findings of the study are presented in the report “Archaeological Impact Assessment for the Propose New Colombo Port City Development Project, Department of Archaeology of Sri Lanka, 2012”, provided as an Annex to the SEIA. Ship wrecks are not observed within the dredging site.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What will happen to the Galle Face green once the Port City is completed?

    • The SEIA states the Galle Face Green is roughly an area of 5.7 ha. Port City will create around 45 ha of park lands and a 13 ha artificial beach area, all for use by the general public. It is expected that the public spaces of Port City will have better facilities and layouts for small scale entrepreneurs and vendors than the present Galle Face.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Is there a fishermen compensation scheme described in SEIA?

    • No. There is no compensation to individuals, instead there is a livelihood improvement plan for the fishers in the Negombo fisheries district.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How much money is allocated to this scheme? Who shall provide the funds? How long will it be operated?

    • Rs.500 million. CHEC Port City Colombo (Private) Limited, the project company shall provide the funds. The proposed scheme shall be on operational for 3 years.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How will the money allocated for compensation be distributed among affected people? Who will be the responsible agency for that?

    • There will be no cash handouts. 18 programs have been identified with the assistance of the fishery associations to implement within next 3 years. Fishermen’s Livelihood Support Society Limited has been established to implement the programs. They will work under the supervision of Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development and the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Explain the ownership structure of CHEC Port City Colombo (Pvt) Ltd, the investment company of Port City.

    • CHEC Port City Colombo (Private) Limited (the Project Company) is a BOI approved Company specifically set up for the purpose of making a foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Colombo Port City Project. It is a 100% owned subsidiary of China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd (CHEC). China Communications & Construction Company (CCCC) which is the Parent Company of CHEC is listed on the Stock Exchanges of Shanghai and Hong Kong.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Does CCCC have the required financial and technical capability to undertake this investment?

    • Yes, CCCC has a ranking of 110 out of Global Fortune 500 companies with over 1 mn employees and US$ 105 billion in assets (larger than Sri Lanka’s GDP). It is ranked as the 4th largest contractor in the world according to ENR Magazine. CCCC is also China’s largest port design and Construction Company, the No 1 dredging company in the world and the No 1 manufacturer of container cranes, with 75% of world market share.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Has CCCC and CHEC done projects similar to this in the past?

    • Yes, such projects include:
    • The Hong Kong New Airport Platform Project: Listed among the top 10 construction projects of the 20th Century, CHEC undertook the excavation of 90 million cu. m to reclaim 1300 hectares, and built other infrastructure requirements for the airport.
    • The man-made island at Macau International Airport: This project saw the excavation and backfilling of 64 million m3 and Land formation area of 1.152 million square meters.
    • Hong Kong Zhuhai Macau Bridge: This 50 km long bridge and tunnel costing around $10 billion will link the west side of Hong Kong to Macau and the city of Zhuhai in the Guangdong province.
    • Hangzhou Bay Cross-sea Bridge, South China: Totaling 36km in length and 33m in width, the bridge is the longest sea crossing bridge in the world.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Is CCCC a black listed company by the World Bank?

    • The World Bank announced on 14th January 2009 debarring seven companies and one individual for alleged engagement of collusive pricing practices in a road project in the Philippines where bids were called in 2002. Among the companies debarred was China Road and Bridge Engineering Co Ltd (CRBC).

      CRBC became a wholly owned subsidiary of CCCC in 2005. CCCC did NOT own CRBC at the time of the dispute with the World Bank in 2002 and therefore cannot be directly or indirectly implicated in this matter, regardless of the merits of the allegation of price collusion.

      To date, CRBC has not received any claim or allegation raised by the Philippines Government as the owner of the road project.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the overall objectives of the Colombo Port City Project?

    • Colombo cannot become a destination that appeals to the international businesses or tourists with ad-hoc developments. Colombo Port City (CPC) provides an opportunity for the old and historic part of Colombo’s Central Business District (CBD) to interface as a modern planned metropolis. Accordingly, the key objectives of reclaiming 269 hectares of land are:
      • To create a regional business hub, with high quality public spaces and infrastructure facilities
      • To create a tourism hub with attractions such as shopping, culture and entertainment
      • Foster integrated living to provide high quality residential facilities and amenities such as parks, water sports, schools, hospitals etc.
      • To generate investments in real estate development and service sector jobs

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Why build a Port City at this location?

    • The reclamation of land at the proposed location is technically feasible because it is anchored against the 2.5 km long Colombo South Port breakwater. Taking advantage of the breakwater construction to create prime land makes sense because the breakwater acts as a natural location for sand accumulation (due to the sediment transport being from North to South).

      The Project will also expand the Central Business District (CBD) of Colombo 1 to accommodate the Colombo International Financial City (CIFC). Financial centres and related services in city’s such as Singapore, Dubai and Hong Kong usually expand in CBDs. Expanding Colombo’s CBD at any other location would not be possible due to lack of space; in addition, ocean-front CBD real estate has proven to generate greater demand by businesses and residents.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    How large is the Foreign Direct investment in Colombo Port City?

    • CPCC will be investing over US$ 1.4 billion (over Rs.210 billion), thereby making this the largest ever FDI project to be implemented in Sri Lanka so far. This excludes the additional investments to be made on real estate projects once the land is reclaimed.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What is the ownership arrangement of Port City between the Project Company and the Government?

    • All lands reclaimed by the Project Company shall be owned by the Urban Development Authority or any other agency nominated by the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL). Of the total of 269Ha reclaimed, the total saleable/marketable land of approximately 178 Ha is to be divided between the Project Company and GOSL. The Project Company would be allocated 116 Ha and GOSL 62Ha. The remaining 91 Ha is common area, also owned by the GOSL, which includes roads, parks, etc. (This does not include beaches of 13 ha and waterways of 80 ha), also owned by the GOSL.

      So, the Project Company will be able to enjoy commercial benefits from only 43% of the land reclaimed in order to recover its investment. The GOSL will lease the 116 ha of marketable land to the Project Company for 99 years, who will have the right to grant fresh 99 year leases to third party developers

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the permissible developments within the reclaimed land at Port City?

    • Port City will contain the following developments and businesses, undertaken by private local and foreign investors
      • The CIFC Building Complex: Comprising retail, residential and office
      • Other Commercial: Banks, offices and retail, hotels and restaurants
      • Residential: Houses, apartment buildings, serviced apartments
      • Institutions: Healthcare, educational and R& D institutions
      • Small businesses: Retail shops, open air trading areas, beauty salons, bakeries, laundries, printing, small scale art and handcraft and other services such as cafes, kiosks, newspaper stands, food trucks and book shops
      • Entertainment: Amusement park, theatre & music
      • Community: Art galleries, community centres
      • Water Sports: Marina and related facilities
    • In addition, the Project Company will build public parks of 45 hectares of public parks and an artificial beach of around 3 km. No Industrial activities will be allowed within Port City.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Can the general public enjoy the benefits of Port City?

    • Of course. Apart from the many thousands of jobs that will be generated, the general public can enjoy a 3 km long artificial beach, water sports and 45 ha of parks, which will be around 9 times larger than Galle Face Green and all other public spaces incorporated into the master plan

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the important commercial terms of the project?

    • The Port City Project is a Public-Private-Partnership.

      The Project Company will take the entire commercial risk of its investment and also invest in all internal infrastructure of the reclaimed area including roads, water supply etc. The GOSL is obliged to provide all utility and infrastructure connections to the periphery of the site. Under the new Agreement of 2016, the Government has the right to request the Project Company to enter into a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) for the provision of such infrastructure. At the moment, several such PPP projects in roads and utility provision are being examined and are under discussion.

      The marketable land lots will be divided between the Project Company and GOSL according to the following process: The Project Company will have the first right of selection of a block of land, followed by the Government selecting another. As the selection process is iterative, the land allocated to the Project Company will not be a contiguous area.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What is the likely timing for the Project?

    • We should be able to hand over first piece of land for building construction by mid 2018. The reclamation and required internal infrastructure will be completed by 2020

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the main challenges to achieving these deadlines?

    • The construction of breakwater can only be carried out during non-monsoon season. Therefore, the reclamation activities will be dictated by how fast we can build the breakwater.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Who will be responsible for managing common land and will investors need to contribute to these costs?

    • An Estate Management Company (EMC) will be set up as a JV between Project Company and GOSL.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Who are the main technical consultants retained by the Project Company for the various aspects of work?

    • A world class team of consultants has been assembled. International consultants include:
      • Planning and Infrastructure: (Sweco, ATKINS, Faithful+ Gould, Surbana Jurong, AECOM, CDR)
      • Real Estate (JLL, CBRE)
      • Legal ( Pinsent Masons)
      • Advertising and Promotion: (Ogilvy and Mather International , Word search)
      • Environmental protection: (icem)

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Has the Project Company used local experts?

    • Yes, many local engineers and technical and other experts are employed full-time by the Company. In addition, the services of the following local organizations have been used:
      • Planning and Infrastructure: (CECB, SWA)
      • Real Estate: ( TWCorp, RIU)
      • Legal : ( VARNERS , Colombo Law Alliance)
      • Advertising and Promotion : ( Phoenix Ogilvy)
      • Environmental Protection: ( LHI, University of Moratuwa, University of Peradeniya, NARA)

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    When would the Government and the Project Company likely to market their land holdings/interest to investors and will this be a coordinated effort?

    • The first phase of the master planned area (closest to Chaitya road) will be ready for building construction by middle of 2018. Therefore, marketing lands to investors will happen prior to that. The marketing of lands allocated to the GOSL and Project Company will be a coordinated effort to ensure fair valuation so as not to flood the market with excess land. The terms and conditions relating to this have been agreed in the Tripartite Agreement between the GOSL, UDA and the Project Company.

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    Are there any guidelines on building design and specification?

    • We have commissioned Surbana Jurong to prepare detailed Design Control Regulations (DCR). All development within Port City will need to adhere to the conditions stipulated in the DCR including certain parameters related to building design and specifications. Also the Port City Master Plan, once approved by the UDA, can only be changed by mutual consultation and agreement between the Project Company and the GOSL.

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    Can foreigners own residential units in Sri Lanka? Can these be locally funded?

    • Yes, foreigners can own residential condominium properties. The local law relating to foreigners owning residential properties or land applicable anywhere in Sri Lanka are applicable within Port City as well. At the moment, local banks could lend up to 40% of the value of the property to a foreigner. The remainder should be funded by foreign currency inward remittance.

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    What precautions have been taken to protect the reclaimed land and buildings thereon from natural disasters?

    • The Project Company’s international consultants have carried out the following engineering studies (among many more) during the planning, design and construction of Port City.

      Wave Climate Modelling: To study the wave climate of the proposed Ports City Development area and obtain design wave heights for off shore breakwater and revetments.

      Stability of Breakwaters: To study stability of breakwater under extreme wave attack. The test results indicate that the Port City breakwater will remain stable even during a 200 year wave event. The same design criterion was also used to design the breakwater of the Colombo South Port.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Was the Project suspended due to lack of adequate environmental safeguards?

    • In March 2015, the Project Company was informed that the GOSL wished to suspend the project construction and review the licenses obtained prior to commencing construction. The onus of obtaining and providing the relevant environmental approvals lies with the GOSL as per the signed Concession Agreement. Thereafter, in order to address the shortcomings of the EIA of 2012 carried out by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority, a comprehensive Supplementary Environmental Impact Assessment (SEIA) was carried out in 2015 by the Ministry of Megapolis, involving over 25 experts from many fields and reputed institutions.

      This study was made available to the general public for their comments for a period of 30 working days as required under the Law. Around 220 written submissions were sent by various associations, NGO’s environmentalists, fishermen and the general public. Responses to the public comments were evaluated by a Technical Evaluation Committee of over 30 persons and the Advisory Council of the Department of Coast Conservation & Coastal Resources Management. This resulted in the reclamation works commencing under a new Development Permit issued by the Department of Coast Conservation, the Project Approving Agency for the Supplementary EIA.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Do you have the required licenses to carry out reclamation work and rock extraction in Sri Lanka?

    • Yes, the Ministry of Megapolis & Western Development has obtained these licenses on behalf of the Project Company

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What were the key restrictions imposed under the new Development Permit

    • The project company would not dredge for sand in the site that is closer to the shore, but would instead dredge in another site, which is 5 kilometers from the coast line, thereby causing minimal if any disruption to normal coastal fishing activities. Project Company can only dredge for sand at depths of 15 meters or more. At this distance and depth, there are hardly any fish breeding grounds and also no possibility whatsoever of any coastal erosion.

      The maximum depth allowed for scraping sand is 2-3 meters from the seabed with a minimum 0.5 meters of sand preserved. This way, there will not be any concentrated dredging in one area causing disruption to fishing activity or permanent damage to the ocean floor and marine life.

      The Project Company has also been prohibited from dredging in any area that has been identified (with GPS coordinates stipulated by NARA) as being close to reef habitats, spawning areas, breeding areas and fishing grounds. In order to ensure safety, Dredging will follow a dredging plan and a schedule to enable fishing in all areas except a particular dredging cell for a short period of a few days. Fishermen will be educated on the route to be taken by dredgers in advance and warning lights and floating markers will be utilized to demarcate the route. This would be done to ensure that fishermen would be able to identify the area and undertake normal fishing. Dredging distances can be monitored by anyone live via the Internet.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Can it be proved that dredging by Port City does not cause coastal erosion?

    • This fact that coastal erosion cannot happen when dredging beyond the dynamic coastal zone (beyond 2 km from the shoreline) and at depths of more than 8 meters is a scientifically proven fact established by scientists throughout the world. Therefore, anyone claiming that dredging of sand carried out by Port City well in excess of these minimum limits – i.e. more than double the distance from the dynamic coastal zone and double the minimum depth of 8m – is an unsubstantiated statement.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What is the impact on fishing caused due to dredging?

    • The SEIA prohibited the dredging to be carried out in Site 1 (2km from shoreline and NARA recommended Site 2 (5km away from shoreline). Comparatively Site 2 had no well-developed reef system nor any form of sea grass beds. According to NARA, the sea bed comprised mainly of extended sandy habitats and commercially important demersal fish in the Site 2 area was scarce. According to NARA’s research it was found that Site 2 is mostly populated with pelagic fish. Sardinella, Anchovy, Mackerel, Barracuda are some of the species of pelagic fish, which means that these fish feed and breed in the water column and not close to the bottom nor near the shore. Therefore, dredging at the ocean bed has no significant effect on the fish in this area.

      Many of the fishermen stated that there are species of turtles present in this area. However, there has been no record of turtles laying eggs in this area since the 1900’s, but they may be visiting as a part of their migratory route and for food. Though the presence of turtles are rare, the main threat to them is not the dredgers but the fishing nets used by the fishermen themselves. This is because dredging is carried out using a “vacuum cleaning” method where the sand is scraped from the ocean floor with the dredger arm, usually 40 cm at a time. Therefore, a cavity or a hole is never formed as alleged by certain fishermen.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How many cubic meters of rock stones will be required for the whole project?

    • Approximately 3.85 million cubic meters.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    From where will those rocks be obtained?

    • From quarries approximately 48 km radius from the project site.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Will there be sufficient supply of rocks in Sri Lanka to cater to this demand?

    • Yes, rocks are mined from licensed quarries in Colombo and Gampaha District and only around 7% of the licensed quarries from this area are used for this purpose.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What is the process followed to mine these rocks?

    • As per the Central Environmental Authority (CEA), there are processes in place on mining rocks from licensed quarries. We are sourcing rocks from the selected suppliers who hold the license to operate quarries and follow the mining regulations set by Sri Lankan laws.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How much sand will be required for the whole project?

    • Approximately 65 million cubic meters

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Can you elaborate on the Breakwaters, How high will it be? What are the benefits? Sustainability?

    • The Breakwater is being built + 4m from mean sea level. The Breakwater is designed to protect the Port City from rising sea levels and high waves.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Has there been any study done to measure impacts due to sewerage disposal, water demand and supply, discharge of solid waste, traffic impact assessment due to Port City Project?

    • The detailed environmental impacts and mitigation measures connected to the above areas will be carried out in the Phase 2 EIA study that will have to be completed before any buildings are constructed on Port City. However, Chapter 2 pages 80-88 of the SEIA report provides a description of aspects relating to utilities and infrastructure. It needs to be pointed out that utility capacity will be created on the basis of actual demand for such services and therefore utility agencies will obtain a return for the services provided. In the case of road infrastructure, it is envisaged that the higher disposable income of those living and working within Port City will justify the investment in required road and public transport infrastructure to access the Central Business District of Colombo.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Has there any archeological impact assessment done on the project site seabed which is going to be reclaimed?

    • A separate archaeological impact assessment of the project site has been carried out by the Department of Archaeology. The findings of the study are presented in the report “Archaeological Impact Assessment for the Propose New Colombo Port City Development Project, Department of Archaeology of Sri Lanka, 2012”, provided as an Annex to the SEIA. Ship wrecks are not observed within the dredging site.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What will happen to the Galle Face green once the Port City is completed?

    • The SEIA states the Galle Face Green is roughly an area of 5.7 ha. Port City will create around 45 ha of park lands and a 13 ha artificial beach area, all for use by the general public. It is expected that the public spaces of Port City will have better facilities and layouts for small scale entrepreneurs and vendors than the present Galle Face.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Is there a fishermen compensation scheme described in SEIA?

    • No. There is no compensation to individuals, instead there is a livelihood improvement plan for the fishers in the Negombo fisheries district.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How much money is allocated to this scheme? Who shall provide the funds? How long will it be operated?

    • Rs.500 million. CHEC Port City Colombo (Private) Limited, the project company shall provide the funds. The proposed scheme shall be on operational for 3 years.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How will the money allocated for compensation be distributed among affected people? Who will be the responsible agency for that?

    • There will be no cash handouts. 18 programs have been identified with the assistance of the fishery associations to implement within next 3 years. Fishermen’s Livelihood Support Society Limited has been established to implement the programs. They will work under the supervision of Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development and the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Explain the ownership structure of CHEC Port City Colombo (Pvt) Ltd, the investment company of Port City.

    • CHEC Port City Colombo (Private) Limited (the Project Company) is a BOI approved Company specifically set up for the purpose of making a foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Colombo Port City Project. It is a 100% owned subsidiary of China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd (CHEC). China Communications & Construction Company (CCCC) which is the Parent Company of CHEC is listed on the Stock Exchanges of Shanghai and Hong Kong.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Does CCCC have the required financial and technical capability to undertake this investment?

    • Yes, CCCC has a ranking of 110 out of Global Fortune 500 companies with over 1 mn employees and US$ 105 billion in assets (larger than Sri Lanka’s GDP). It is ranked as the 4th largest contractor in the world according to ENR Magazine. CCCC is also China’s largest port design and Construction Company, the No 1 dredging company in the world and the No 1 manufacturer of container cranes, with 75% of world market share.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Has CCCC and CHEC done projects similar to this in the past?

    • Yes, such projects include:
    • The Hong Kong New Airport Platform Project: Listed among the top 10 construction projects of the 20th Century, CHEC undertook the excavation of 90 million cu. m to reclaim 1300 hectares, and built other infrastructure requirements for the airport.
    • The man-made island at Macau International Airport: This project saw the excavation and backfilling of 64 million m3 and Land formation area of 1.152 million square meters.
    • Hong Kong Zhuhai Macau Bridge: This 50 km long bridge and tunnel costing around $10 billion will link the west side of Hong Kong to Macau and the city of Zhuhai in the Guangdong province.
    • Hangzhou Bay Cross-sea Bridge, South China: Totaling 36km in length and 33m in width, the bridge is the longest sea crossing bridge in the world.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Is CCCC a black listed company by the World Bank?

    • The World Bank announced on 14th January 2009 debarring seven companies and one individual for alleged engagement of collusive pricing practices in a road project in the Philippines where bids were called in 2002. Among the companies debarred was China Road and Bridge Engineering Co Ltd (CRBC).

      CRBC became a wholly owned subsidiary of CCCC in 2005. CCCC did NOT own CRBC at the time of the dispute with the World Bank in 2002 and therefore cannot be directly or indirectly implicated in this matter, regardless of the merits of the allegation of price collusion.

      To date, CRBC has not received any claim or allegation raised by the Philippines Government as the owner of the road project.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the overall objectives of the Colombo Port City Project?

    • Colombo cannot become a destination that appeals to the international businesses or tourists with ad-hoc developments. Colombo Port City (CPC) provides an opportunity for the old and historic part of Colombo’s Central Business District (CBD) to interface as a modern planned metropolis. Accordingly, the key objectives of reclaiming 269 hectares of land are:
      • To create a regional business hub, with high quality public spaces and infrastructure facilities
      • To create a tourism hub with attractions such as shopping, culture and entertainment
      • Foster integrated living to provide high quality residential facilities and amenities such as parks, water sports, schools, hospitals etc.
      • To generate investments in real estate development and service sector jobs

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Why build a Port City at this location?

    • The reclamation of land at the proposed location is technically feasible because it is anchored against the 2.5 km long Colombo South Port breakwater. Taking advantage of the breakwater construction to create prime land makes sense because the breakwater acts as a natural location for sand accumulation (due to the sediment transport being from North to South).

      The Project will also expand the Central Business District (CBD) of Colombo 1 to accommodate the Colombo International Financial City (CIFC). Financial centres and related services in city’s such as Singapore, Dubai and Hong Kong usually expand in CBDs. Expanding Colombo’s CBD at any other location would not be possible due to lack of space; in addition, ocean-front CBD real estate has proven to generate greater demand by businesses and residents.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    How large is the Foreign Direct investment in Colombo Port City?

    • CPCC will be investing over US$ 1.4 billion (over Rs.210 billion), thereby making this the largest ever FDI project to be implemented in Sri Lanka so far. This excludes the additional investments to be made on real estate projects once the land is reclaimed.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What is the ownership arrangement of Port City between the Project Company and the Government?

    • All lands reclaimed by the Project Company shall be owned by the Urban Development Authority or any other agency nominated by the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL). Of the total of 269Ha reclaimed, the total saleable/marketable land of approximately 178 Ha is to be divided between the Project Company and GOSL. The Project Company would be allocated 116 Ha and GOSL 62Ha. The remaining 91 Ha is common area, also owned by the GOSL, which includes roads, parks, etc. (This does not include beaches of 13 ha and waterways of 80 ha), also owned by the GOSL.

      So, the Project Company will be able to enjoy commercial benefits from only 43% of the land reclaimed in order to recover its investment. The GOSL will lease the 116 ha of marketable land to the Project Company for 99 years, who will have the right to grant fresh 99 year leases to third party developers

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the permissible developments within the reclaimed land at Port City?

    • Port City will contain the following developments and businesses, undertaken by private local and foreign investors
      • The CIFC Building Complex: Comprising retail, residential and office
      • Other Commercial: Banks, offices and retail, hotels and restaurants
      • Residential: Houses, apartment buildings, serviced apartments
      • Institutions: Healthcare, educational and R& D institutions
      • Small businesses: Retail shops, open air trading areas, beauty salons, bakeries, laundries, printing, small scale art and handcraft and other services such as cafes, kiosks, newspaper stands, food trucks and book shops
      • Entertainment: Amusement park, theatre & music
      • Community: Art galleries, community centres
      • Water Sports: Marina and related facilities
    • In addition, the Project Company will build public parks of 45 hectares of public parks and an artificial beach of around 3 km. No Industrial activities will be allowed within Port City.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Can the general public enjoy the benefits of Port City?

    • Of course. Apart from the many thousands of jobs that will be generated, the general public can enjoy a 3 km long artificial beach, water sports and 45 ha of parks, which will be around 9 times larger than Galle Face Green and all other public spaces incorporated into the master plan

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the important commercial terms of the project?

    • The Port City Project is a Public-Private-Partnership.

      The Project Company will take the entire commercial risk of its investment and also invest in all internal infrastructure of the reclaimed area including roads, water supply etc. The GOSL is obliged to provide all utility and infrastructure connections to the periphery of the site. Under the new Agreement of 2016, the Government has the right to request the Project Company to enter into a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) for the provision of such infrastructure. At the moment, several such PPP projects in roads and utility provision are being examined and are under discussion.

      The marketable land lots will be divided between the Project Company and GOSL according to the following process: The Project Company will have the first right of selection of a block of land, followed by the Government selecting another. As the selection process is iterative, the land allocated to the Project Company will not be a contiguous area.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What is the likely timing for the Project?

    • We should be able to hand over first piece of land for building construction by mid 2018. The reclamation and required internal infrastructure will be completed by 2020

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the main challenges to achieving these deadlines?

    • The construction of breakwater can only be carried out during non-monsoon season. Therefore, the reclamation activities will be dictated by how fast we can build the breakwater.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Who will be responsible for managing common land and will investors need to contribute to these costs?

    • An Estate Management Company (EMC) will be set up as a JV between Project Company and GOSL.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Who are the main technical consultants retained by the Project Company for the various aspects of work?

    • A world class team of consultants has been assembled. International consultants include:
      • Planning and Infrastructure: (Sweco, ATKINS, Faithful+ Gould, Surbana Jurong, AECOM, CDR)
      • Real Estate (JLL, CBRE)
      • Legal ( Pinsent Masons)
      • Advertising and Promotion: (Ogilvy and Mather International , Word search)
      • Environmental protection: (icem)

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Has the Project Company used local experts?

    • Yes, many local engineers and technical and other experts are employed full-time by the Company. In addition, the services of the following local organizations have been used:
      • Planning and Infrastructure: (CECB, SWA)
      • Real Estate: ( TWCorp, RIU)
      • Legal : ( VARNERS , Colombo Law Alliance)
      • Advertising and Promotion : ( Phoenix Ogilvy)
      • Environmental Protection: ( LHI, University of Moratuwa, University of Peradeniya, NARA)

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    When would the Government and the Project Company likely to market their land holdings/interest to investors and will this be a coordinated effort?

    • The first phase of the master planned area (closest to Chaitya road) will be ready for building construction by middle of 2018. Therefore, marketing lands to investors will happen prior to that. The marketing of lands allocated to the GOSL and Project Company will be a coordinated effort to ensure fair valuation so as not to flood the market with excess land. The terms and conditions relating to this have been agreed in the Tripartite Agreement between the GOSL, UDA and the Project Company.

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    Are there any guidelines on building design and specification?

    • We have commissioned Surbana Jurong to prepare detailed Design Control Regulations (DCR). All development within Port City will need to adhere to the conditions stipulated in the DCR including certain parameters related to building design and specifications. Also the Port City Master Plan, once approved by the UDA, can only be changed by mutual consultation and agreement between the Project Company and the GOSL.

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    Can foreigners own residential units in Sri Lanka? Can these be locally funded?

    • Yes, foreigners can own residential condominium properties. The local law relating to foreigners owning residential properties or land applicable anywhere in Sri Lanka are applicable within Port City as well. At the moment, local banks could lend up to 40% of the value of the property to a foreigner. The remainder should be funded by foreign currency inward remittance.

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    What precautions have been taken to protect the reclaimed land and buildings thereon from natural disasters?

    • The Project Company’s international consultants have carried out the following engineering studies (among many more) during the planning, design and construction of Port City.

      Wave Climate Modelling: To study the wave climate of the proposed Ports City Development area and obtain design wave heights for off shore breakwater and revetments.

      Stability of Breakwaters: To study stability of breakwater under extreme wave attack. The test results indicate that the Port City breakwater will remain stable even during a 200 year wave event. The same design criterion was also used to design the breakwater of the Colombo South Port.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Was the Project suspended due to lack of adequate environmental safeguards?

    • In March 2015, the Project Company was informed that the GOSL wished to suspend the project construction and review the licenses obtained prior to commencing construction. The onus of obtaining and providing the relevant environmental approvals lies with the GOSL as per the signed Concession Agreement. Thereafter, in order to address the shortcomings of the EIA of 2012 carried out by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority, a comprehensive Supplementary Environmental Impact Assessment (SEIA) was carried out in 2015 by the Ministry of Megapolis, involving over 25 experts from many fields and reputed institutions.

      This study was made available to the general public for their comments for a period of 30 working days as required under the Law. Around 220 written submissions were sent by various associations, NGO’s environmentalists, fishermen and the general public. Responses to the public comments were evaluated by a Technical Evaluation Committee of over 30 persons and the Advisory Council of the Department of Coast Conservation & Coastal Resources Management. This resulted in the reclamation works commencing under a new Development Permit issued by the Department of Coast Conservation, the Project Approving Agency for the Supplementary EIA.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Do you have the required licenses to carry out reclamation work and rock extraction in Sri Lanka?

    • Yes, the Ministry of Megapolis & Western Development has obtained these licenses on behalf of the Project Company

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What were the key restrictions imposed under the new Development Permit

    • The project company would not dredge for sand in the site that is closer to the shore, but would instead dredge in another site, which is 5 kilometers from the coast line, thereby causing minimal if any disruption to normal coastal fishing activities. Project Company can only dredge for sand at depths of 15 meters or more. At this distance and depth, there are hardly any fish breeding grounds and also no possibility whatsoever of any coastal erosion.

      The maximum depth allowed for scraping sand is 2-3 meters from the seabed with a minimum 0.5 meters of sand preserved. This way, there will not be any concentrated dredging in one area causing disruption to fishing activity or permanent damage to the ocean floor and marine life.

      The Project Company has also been prohibited from dredging in any area that has been identified (with GPS coordinates stipulated by NARA) as being close to reef habitats, spawning areas, breeding areas and fishing grounds. In order to ensure safety, Dredging will follow a dredging plan and a schedule to enable fishing in all areas except a particular dredging cell for a short period of a few days. Fishermen will be educated on the route to be taken by dredgers in advance and warning lights and floating markers will be utilized to demarcate the route. This would be done to ensure that fishermen would be able to identify the area and undertake normal fishing. Dredging distances can be monitored by anyone live via the Internet.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Can it be proved that dredging by Port City does not cause coastal erosion?

    • This fact that coastal erosion cannot happen when dredging beyond the dynamic coastal zone (beyond 2 km from the shoreline) and at depths of more than 8 meters is a scientifically proven fact established by scientists throughout the world. Therefore, anyone claiming that dredging of sand carried out by Port City well in excess of these minimum limits – i.e. more than double the distance from the dynamic coastal zone and double the minimum depth of 8m – is an unsubstantiated statement.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What is the impact on fishing caused due to dredging?

    • The SEIA prohibited the dredging to be carried out in Site 1 (2km from shoreline and NARA recommended Site 2 (5km away from shoreline). Comparatively Site 2 had no well-developed reef system nor any form of sea grass beds. According to NARA, the sea bed comprised mainly of extended sandy habitats and commercially important demersal fish in the Site 2 area was scarce. According to NARA’s research it was found that Site 2 is mostly populated with pelagic fish. Sardinella, Anchovy, Mackerel, Barracuda are some of the species of pelagic fish, which means that these fish feed and breed in the water column and not close to the bottom nor near the shore. Therefore, dredging at the ocean bed has no significant effect on the fish in this area.

      Many of the fishermen stated that there are species of turtles present in this area. However, there has been no record of turtles laying eggs in this area since the 1900’s, but they may be visiting as a part of their migratory route and for food. Though the presence of turtles are rare, the main threat to them is not the dredgers but the fishing nets used by the fishermen themselves. This is because dredging is carried out using a “vacuum cleaning” method where the sand is scraped from the ocean floor with the dredger arm, usually 40 cm at a time. Therefore, a cavity or a hole is never formed as alleged by certain fishermen.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How many cubic meters of rock stones will be required for the whole project?

    • Approximately 3.85 million cubic meters.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    From where will those rocks be obtained?

    • From quarries approximately 48 km radius from the project site.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Will there be sufficient supply of rocks in Sri Lanka to cater to this demand?

    • Yes, rocks are mined from licensed quarries in Colombo and Gampaha District and only around 7% of the licensed quarries from this area are used for this purpose.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What is the process followed to mine these rocks?

    • As per the Central Environmental Authority (CEA), there are processes in place on mining rocks from licensed quarries. We are sourcing rocks from the selected suppliers who hold the license to operate quarries and follow the mining regulations set by Sri Lankan laws.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How much sand will be required for the whole project?

    • Approximately 65 million cubic meters

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Can you elaborate on the Breakwaters, How high will it be? What are the benefits? Sustainability?

    • The Breakwater is being built + 4m from mean sea level. The Breakwater is designed to protect the Port City from rising sea levels and high waves.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Has there been any study done to measure impacts due to sewerage disposal, water demand and supply, discharge of solid waste, traffic impact assessment due to Port City Project?

    • The detailed environmental impacts and mitigation measures connected to the above areas will be carried out in the Phase 2 EIA study that will have to be completed before any buildings are constructed on Port City. However, Chapter 2 pages 80-88 of the SEIA report provides a description of aspects relating to utilities and infrastructure. It needs to be pointed out that utility capacity will be created on the basis of actual demand for such services and therefore utility agencies will obtain a return for the services provided. In the case of road infrastructure, it is envisaged that the higher disposable income of those living and working within Port City will justify the investment in required road and public transport infrastructure to access the Central Business District of Colombo.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Has there any archeological impact assessment done on the project site seabed which is going to be reclaimed?

    • A separate archaeological impact assessment of the project site has been carried out by the Department of Archaeology. The findings of the study are presented in the report “Archaeological Impact Assessment for the Propose New Colombo Port City Development Project, Department of Archaeology of Sri Lanka, 2012”, provided as an Annex to the SEIA. Ship wrecks are not observed within the dredging site.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What will happen to the Galle Face green once the Port City is completed?

    • The SEIA states the Galle Face Green is roughly an area of 5.7 ha. Port City will create around 45 ha of park lands and a 13 ha artificial beach area, all for use by the general public. It is expected that the public spaces of Port City will have better facilities and layouts for small scale entrepreneurs and vendors than the present Galle Face.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Is there a fishermen compensation scheme described in SEIA?

    • No. There is no compensation to individuals, instead there is a livelihood improvement plan for the fishers in the Negombo fisheries district.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How much money is allocated to this scheme? Who shall provide the funds? How long will it be operated?

    • Rs.500 million. CHEC Port City Colombo (Private) Limited, the project company shall provide the funds. The proposed scheme shall be on operational for 3 years.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How will the money allocated for compensation be distributed among affected people? Who will be the responsible agency for that?

    • There will be no cash handouts. 18 programs have been identified with the assistance of the fishery associations to implement within next 3 years. Fishermen’s Livelihood Support Society Limited has been established to implement the programs. They will work under the supervision of Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development and the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Explain the ownership structure of CHEC Port City Colombo (Pvt) Ltd, the investment company of Port City.

    • CHEC Port City Colombo (Private) Limited (the Project Company) is a BOI approved Company specifically set up for the purpose of making a foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Colombo Port City Project. It is a 100% owned subsidiary of China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd (CHEC). China Communications & Construction Company (CCCC) which is the Parent Company of CHEC is listed on the Stock Exchanges of Shanghai and Hong Kong.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Does CCCC have the required financial and technical capability to undertake this investment?

    • Yes, CCCC has a ranking of 110 out of Global Fortune 500 companies with over 1 mn employees and US$ 105 billion in assets (larger than Sri Lanka’s GDP). It is ranked as the 4th largest contractor in the world according to ENR Magazine. CCCC is also China’s largest port design and Construction Company, the No 1 dredging company in the world and the No 1 manufacturer of container cranes, with 75% of world market share.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Has CCCC and CHEC done projects similar to this in the past?

    • Yes, such projects include:
    • The Hong Kong New Airport Platform Project: Listed among the top 10 construction projects of the 20th Century, CHEC undertook the excavation of 90 million cu. m to reclaim 1300 hectares, and built other infrastructure requirements for the airport.
    • The man-made island at Macau International Airport: This project saw the excavation and backfilling of 64 million m3 and Land formation area of 1.152 million square meters.
    • Hong Kong Zhuhai Macau Bridge: This 50 km long bridge and tunnel costing around $10 billion will link the west side of Hong Kong to Macau and the city of Zhuhai in the Guangdong province.
    • Hangzhou Bay Cross-sea Bridge, South China: Totaling 36km in length and 33m in width, the bridge is the longest sea crossing bridge in the world.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Is CCCC a black listed company by the World Bank?

    • The World Bank announced on 14th January 2009 debarring seven companies and one individual for alleged engagement of collusive pricing practices in a road project in the Philippines where bids were called in 2002. Among the companies debarred was China Road and Bridge Engineering Co Ltd (CRBC).

      CRBC became a wholly owned subsidiary of CCCC in 2005. CCCC did NOT own CRBC at the time of the dispute with the World Bank in 2002 and therefore cannot be directly or indirectly implicated in this matter, regardless of the merits of the allegation of price collusion.

      To date, CRBC has not received any claim or allegation raised by the Philippines Government as the owner of the road project.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the overall objectives of the Colombo Port City Project?

    • Colombo cannot become a destination that appeals to the international businesses or tourists with ad-hoc developments. Colombo Port City (CPC) provides an opportunity for the old and historic part of Colombo’s Central Business District (CBD) to interface as a modern planned metropolis. Accordingly, the key objectives of reclaiming 269 hectares of land are:
      • To create a regional business hub, with high quality public spaces and infrastructure facilities
      • To create a tourism hub with attractions such as shopping, culture and entertainment
      • Foster integrated living to provide high quality residential facilities and amenities such as parks, water sports, schools, hospitals etc.
      • To generate investments in real estate development and service sector jobs

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Why build a Port City at this location?

    • The reclamation of land at the proposed location is technically feasible because it is anchored against the 2.5 km long Colombo South Port breakwater. Taking advantage of the breakwater construction to create prime land makes sense because the breakwater acts as a natural location for sand accumulation (due to the sediment transport being from North to South).

      The Project will also expand the Central Business District (CBD) of Colombo 1 to accommodate the Colombo International Financial City (CIFC). Financial centres and related services in city’s such as Singapore, Dubai and Hong Kong usually expand in CBDs. Expanding Colombo’s CBD at any other location would not be possible due to lack of space; in addition, ocean-front CBD real estate has proven to generate greater demand by businesses and residents.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    How large is the Foreign Direct investment in Colombo Port City?

    • CPCC will be investing over US$ 1.4 billion (over Rs.210 billion), thereby making this the largest ever FDI project to be implemented in Sri Lanka so far. This excludes the additional investments to be made on real estate projects once the land is reclaimed.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What is the ownership arrangement of Port City between the Project Company and the Government?

    • All lands reclaimed by the Project Company shall be owned by the Urban Development Authority or any other agency nominated by the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL). Of the total of 269Ha reclaimed, the total saleable/marketable land of approximately 178 Ha is to be divided between the Project Company and GOSL. The Project Company would be allocated 116 Ha and GOSL 62Ha. The remaining 91 Ha is common area, also owned by the GOSL, which includes roads, parks, etc. (This does not include beaches of 13 ha and waterways of 80 ha), also owned by the GOSL.

      So, the Project Company will be able to enjoy commercial benefits from only 43% of the land reclaimed in order to recover its investment. The GOSL will lease the 116 ha of marketable land to the Project Company for 99 years, who will have the right to grant fresh 99 year leases to third party developers

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the permissible developments within the reclaimed land at Port City?

    • Port City will contain the following developments and businesses, undertaken by private local and foreign investors
      • The CIFC Building Complex: Comprising retail, residential and office
      • Other Commercial: Banks, offices and retail, hotels and restaurants
      • Residential: Houses, apartment buildings, serviced apartments
      • Institutions: Healthcare, educational and R& D institutions
      • Small businesses: Retail shops, open air trading areas, beauty salons, bakeries, laundries, printing, small scale art and handcraft and other services such as cafes, kiosks, newspaper stands, food trucks and book shops
      • Entertainment: Amusement park, theatre & music
      • Community: Art galleries, community centres
      • Water Sports: Marina and related facilities
    • In addition, the Project Company will build public parks of 45 hectares of public parks and an artificial beach of around 3 km. No Industrial activities will be allowed within Port City.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Can the general public enjoy the benefits of Port City?

    • Of course. Apart from the many thousands of jobs that will be generated, the general public can enjoy a 3 km long artificial beach, water sports and 45 ha of parks, which will be around 9 times larger than Galle Face Green and all other public spaces incorporated into the master plan

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the important commercial terms of the project?

    • The Port City Project is a Public-Private-Partnership.

      The Project Company will take the entire commercial risk of its investment and also invest in all internal infrastructure of the reclaimed area including roads, water supply etc. The GOSL is obliged to provide all utility and infrastructure connections to the periphery of the site. Under the new Agreement of 2016, the Government has the right to request the Project Company to enter into a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) for the provision of such infrastructure. At the moment, several such PPP projects in roads and utility provision are being examined and are under discussion.

      The marketable land lots will be divided between the Project Company and GOSL according to the following process: The Project Company will have the first right of selection of a block of land, followed by the Government selecting another. As the selection process is iterative, the land allocated to the Project Company will not be a contiguous area.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What is the likely timing for the Project?

    • We should be able to hand over first piece of land for building construction by mid 2018. The reclamation and required internal infrastructure will be completed by 2020

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the main challenges to achieving these deadlines?

    • The construction of breakwater can only be carried out during non-monsoon season. Therefore, the reclamation activities will be dictated by how fast we can build the breakwater.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Who will be responsible for managing common land and will investors need to contribute to these costs?

    • An Estate Management Company (EMC) will be set up as a JV between Project Company and GOSL.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Who are the main technical consultants retained by the Project Company for the various aspects of work?

    • A world class team of consultants has been assembled. International consultants include:
      • Planning and Infrastructure: (Sweco, ATKINS, Faithful+ Gould, Surbana Jurong, AECOM, CDR)
      • Real Estate (JLL, CBRE)
      • Legal ( Pinsent Masons)
      • Advertising and Promotion: (Ogilvy and Mather International , Word search)
      • Environmental protection: (icem)

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Has the Project Company used local experts?

    • Yes, many local engineers and technical and other experts are employed full-time by the Company. In addition, the services of the following local organizations have been used:
      • Planning and Infrastructure: (CECB, SWA)
      • Real Estate: ( TWCorp, RIU)
      • Legal : ( VARNERS , Colombo Law Alliance)
      • Advertising and Promotion : ( Phoenix Ogilvy)
      • Environmental Protection: ( LHI, University of Moratuwa, University of Peradeniya, NARA)

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    When would the Government and the Project Company likely to market their land holdings/interest to investors and will this be a coordinated effort?

    • The first phase of the master planned area (closest to Chaitya road) will be ready for building construction by middle of 2018. Therefore, marketing lands to investors will happen prior to that. The marketing of lands allocated to the GOSL and Project Company will be a coordinated effort to ensure fair valuation so as not to flood the market with excess land. The terms and conditions relating to this have been agreed in the Tripartite Agreement between the GOSL, UDA and the Project Company.

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    Are there any guidelines on building design and specification?

    • We have commissioned Surbana Jurong to prepare detailed Design Control Regulations (DCR). All development within Port City will need to adhere to the conditions stipulated in the DCR including certain parameters related to building design and specifications. Also the Port City Master Plan, once approved by the UDA, can only be changed by mutual consultation and agreement between the Project Company and the GOSL.

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    Can foreigners own residential units in Sri Lanka? Can these be locally funded?

    • Yes, foreigners can own residential condominium properties. The local law relating to foreigners owning residential properties or land applicable anywhere in Sri Lanka are applicable within Port City as well. At the moment, local banks could lend up to 40% of the value of the property to a foreigner. The remainder should be funded by foreign currency inward remittance.

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    What precautions have been taken to protect the reclaimed land and buildings thereon from natural disasters?

    • The Project Company’s international consultants have carried out the following engineering studies (among many more) during the planning, design and construction of Port City.

      Wave Climate Modelling: To study the wave climate of the proposed Ports City Development area and obtain design wave heights for off shore breakwater and revetments.

      Stability of Breakwaters: To study stability of breakwater under extreme wave attack. The test results indicate that the Port City breakwater will remain stable even during a 200 year wave event. The same design criterion was also used to design the breakwater of the Colombo South Port.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Was the Project suspended due to lack of adequate environmental safeguards?

    • In March 2015, the Project Company was informed that the GOSL wished to suspend the project construction and review the licenses obtained prior to commencing construction. The onus of obtaining and providing the relevant environmental approvals lies with the GOSL as per the signed Concession Agreement. Thereafter, in order to address the shortcomings of the EIA of 2012 carried out by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority, a comprehensive Supplementary Environmental Impact Assessment (SEIA) was carried out in 2015 by the Ministry of Megapolis, involving over 25 experts from many fields and reputed institutions.

      This study was made available to the general public for their comments for a period of 30 working days as required under the Law. Around 220 written submissions were sent by various associations, NGO’s environmentalists, fishermen and the general public. Responses to the public comments were evaluated by a Technical Evaluation Committee of over 30 persons and the Advisory Council of the Department of Coast Conservation & Coastal Resources Management. This resulted in the reclamation works commencing under a new Development Permit issued by the Department of Coast Conservation, the Project Approving Agency for the Supplementary EIA.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Do you have the required licenses to carry out reclamation work and rock extraction in Sri Lanka?

    • Yes, the Ministry of Megapolis & Western Development has obtained these licenses on behalf of the Project Company

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What were the key restrictions imposed under the new Development Permit

    • The project company would not dredge for sand in the site that is closer to the shore, but would instead dredge in another site, which is 5 kilometers from the coast line, thereby causing minimal if any disruption to normal coastal fishing activities. Project Company can only dredge for sand at depths of 15 meters or more. At this distance and depth, there are hardly any fish breeding grounds and also no possibility whatsoever of any coastal erosion.

      The maximum depth allowed for scraping sand is 2-3 meters from the seabed with a minimum 0.5 meters of sand preserved. This way, there will not be any concentrated dredging in one area causing disruption to fishing activity or permanent damage to the ocean floor and marine life.

      The Project Company has also been prohibited from dredging in any area that has been identified (with GPS coordinates stipulated by NARA) as being close to reef habitats, spawning areas, breeding areas and fishing grounds. In order to ensure safety, Dredging will follow a dredging plan and a schedule to enable fishing in all areas except a particular dredging cell for a short period of a few days. Fishermen will be educated on the route to be taken by dredgers in advance and warning lights and floating markers will be utilized to demarcate the route. This would be done to ensure that fishermen would be able to identify the area and undertake normal fishing. Dredging distances can be monitored by anyone live via the Internet.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Can it be proved that dredging by Port City does not cause coastal erosion?

    • This fact that coastal erosion cannot happen when dredging beyond the dynamic coastal zone (beyond 2 km from the shoreline) and at depths of more than 8 meters is a scientifically proven fact established by scientists throughout the world. Therefore, anyone claiming that dredging of sand carried out by Port City well in excess of these minimum limits – i.e. more than double the distance from the dynamic coastal zone and double the minimum depth of 8m – is an unsubstantiated statement.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What is the impact on fishing caused due to dredging?

    • The SEIA prohibited the dredging to be carried out in Site 1 (2km from shoreline and NARA recommended Site 2 (5km away from shoreline). Comparatively Site 2 had no well-developed reef system nor any form of sea grass beds. According to NARA, the sea bed comprised mainly of extended sandy habitats and commercially important demersal fish in the Site 2 area was scarce. According to NARA’s research it was found that Site 2 is mostly populated with pelagic fish. Sardinella, Anchovy, Mackerel, Barracuda are some of the species of pelagic fish, which means that these fish feed and breed in the water column and not close to the bottom nor near the shore. Therefore, dredging at the ocean bed has no significant effect on the fish in this area.

      Many of the fishermen stated that there are species of turtles present in this area. However, there has been no record of turtles laying eggs in this area since the 1900’s, but they may be visiting as a part of their migratory route and for food. Though the presence of turtles are rare, the main threat to them is not the dredgers but the fishing nets used by the fishermen themselves. This is because dredging is carried out using a “vacuum cleaning” method where the sand is scraped from the ocean floor with the dredger arm, usually 40 cm at a time. Therefore, a cavity or a hole is never formed as alleged by certain fishermen.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How many cubic meters of rock stones will be required for the whole project?

    • Approximately 3.85 million cubic meters.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    From where will those rocks be obtained?

    • From quarries approximately 48 km radius from the project site.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Will there be sufficient supply of rocks in Sri Lanka to cater to this demand?

    • Yes, rocks are mined from licensed quarries in Colombo and Gampaha District and only around 7% of the licensed quarries from this area are used for this purpose.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What is the process followed to mine these rocks?

    • As per the Central Environmental Authority (CEA), there are processes in place on mining rocks from licensed quarries. We are sourcing rocks from the selected suppliers who hold the license to operate quarries and follow the mining regulations set by Sri Lankan laws.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How much sand will be required for the whole project?

    • Approximately 65 million cubic meters

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Can you elaborate on the Breakwaters, How high will it be? What are the benefits? Sustainability?

    • The Breakwater is being built + 4m from mean sea level. The Breakwater is designed to protect the Port City from rising sea levels and high waves.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Has there been any study done to measure impacts due to sewerage disposal, water demand and supply, discharge of solid waste, traffic impact assessment due to Port City Project?

    • The detailed environmental impacts and mitigation measures connected to the above areas will be carried out in the Phase 2 EIA study that will have to be completed before any buildings are constructed on Port City. However, Chapter 2 pages 80-88 of the SEIA report provides a description of aspects relating to utilities and infrastructure. It needs to be pointed out that utility capacity will be created on the basis of actual demand for such services and therefore utility agencies will obtain a return for the services provided. In the case of road infrastructure, it is envisaged that the higher disposable income of those living and working within Port City will justify the investment in required road and public transport infrastructure to access the Central Business District of Colombo.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Has there any archeological impact assessment done on the project site seabed which is going to be reclaimed?

    • A separate archaeological impact assessment of the project site has been carried out by the Department of Archaeology. The findings of the study are presented in the report “Archaeological Impact Assessment for the Propose New Colombo Port City Development Project, Department of Archaeology of Sri Lanka, 2012”, provided as an Annex to the SEIA. Ship wrecks are not observed within the dredging site.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What will happen to the Galle Face green once the Port City is completed?

    • The SEIA states the Galle Face Green is roughly an area of 5.7 ha. Port City will create around 45 ha of park lands and a 13 ha artificial beach area, all for use by the general public. It is expected that the public spaces of Port City will have better facilities and layouts for small scale entrepreneurs and vendors than the present Galle Face.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Is there a fishermen compensation scheme described in SEIA?

    • No. There is no compensation to individuals, instead there is a livelihood improvement plan for the fishers in the Negombo fisheries district.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How much money is allocated to this scheme? Who shall provide the funds? How long will it be operated?

    • Rs.500 million. CHEC Port City Colombo (Private) Limited, the project company shall provide the funds. The proposed scheme shall be on operational for 3 years.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How will the money allocated for compensation be distributed among affected people? Who will be the responsible agency for that?

    • There will be no cash handouts. 18 programs have been identified with the assistance of the fishery associations to implement within next 3 years. Fishermen’s Livelihood Support Society Limited has been established to implement the programs. They will work under the supervision of Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development and the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Explain the ownership structure of CHEC Port City Colombo (Pvt) Ltd, the investment company of Port City.

    • CHEC Port City Colombo (Private) Limited (the Project Company) is a BOI approved Company specifically set up for the purpose of making a foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Colombo Port City Project. It is a 100% owned subsidiary of China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd (CHEC). China Communications & Construction Company (CCCC) which is the Parent Company of CHEC is listed on the Stock Exchanges of Shanghai and Hong Kong.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Does CCCC have the required financial and technical capability to undertake this investment?

    • Yes, CCCC has a ranking of 110 out of Global Fortune 500 companies with over 1 mn employees and US$ 105 billion in assets (larger than Sri Lanka’s GDP). It is ranked as the 4th largest contractor in the world according to ENR Magazine. CCCC is also China’s largest port design and Construction Company, the No 1 dredging company in the world and the No 1 manufacturer of container cranes, with 75% of world market share.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Has CCCC and CHEC done projects similar to this in the past?

    • Yes, such projects include:
    • The Hong Kong New Airport Platform Project: Listed among the top 10 construction projects of the 20th Century, CHEC undertook the excavation of 90 million cu. m to reclaim 1300 hectares, and built other infrastructure requirements for the airport.
    • The man-made island at Macau International Airport: This project saw the excavation and backfilling of 64 million m3 and Land formation area of 1.152 million square meters.
    • Hong Kong Zhuhai Macau Bridge: This 50 km long bridge and tunnel costing around $10 billion will link the west side of Hong Kong to Macau and the city of Zhuhai in the Guangdong province.
    • Hangzhou Bay Cross-sea Bridge, South China: Totaling 36km in length and 33m in width, the bridge is the longest sea crossing bridge in the world.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Is CCCC a black listed company by the World Bank?

    • The World Bank announced on 14th January 2009 debarring seven companies and one individual for alleged engagement of collusive pricing practices in a road project in the Philippines where bids were called in 2002. Among the companies debarred was China Road and Bridge Engineering Co Ltd (CRBC).

      CRBC became a wholly owned subsidiary of CCCC in 2005. CCCC did NOT own CRBC at the time of the dispute with the World Bank in 2002 and therefore cannot be directly or indirectly implicated in this matter, regardless of the merits of the allegation of price collusion.

      To date, CRBC has not received any claim or allegation raised by the Philippines Government as the owner of the road project.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the overall objectives of the Colombo Port City Project?

    • Colombo cannot become a destination that appeals to the international businesses or tourists with ad-hoc developments. Colombo Port City (CPC) provides an opportunity for the old and historic part of Colombo’s Central Business District (CBD) to interface as a modern planned metropolis. Accordingly, the key objectives of reclaiming 269 hectares of land are:
      • To create a regional business hub, with high quality public spaces and infrastructure facilities
      • To create a tourism hub with attractions such as shopping, culture and entertainment
      • Foster integrated living to provide high quality residential facilities and amenities such as parks, water sports, schools, hospitals etc.
      • To generate investments in real estate development and service sector jobs

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Why build a Port City at this location?

    • The reclamation of land at the proposed location is technically feasible because it is anchored against the 2.5 km long Colombo South Port breakwater. Taking advantage of the breakwater construction to create prime land makes sense because the breakwater acts as a natural location for sand accumulation (due to the sediment transport being from North to South).

      The Project will also expand the Central Business District (CBD) of Colombo 1 to accommodate the Colombo International Financial City (CIFC). Financial centres and related services in city’s such as Singapore, Dubai and Hong Kong usually expand in CBDs. Expanding Colombo’s CBD at any other location would not be possible due to lack of space; in addition, ocean-front CBD real estate has proven to generate greater demand by businesses and residents.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    How large is the Foreign Direct investment in Colombo Port City?

    • CPCC will be investing over US$ 1.4 billion (over Rs.210 billion), thereby making this the largest ever FDI project to be implemented in Sri Lanka so far. This excludes the additional investments to be made on real estate projects once the land is reclaimed.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What is the ownership arrangement of Port City between the Project Company and the Government?

    • All lands reclaimed by the Project Company shall be owned by the Urban Development Authority or any other agency nominated by the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL). Of the total of 269Ha reclaimed, the total saleable/marketable land of approximately 178 Ha is to be divided between the Project Company and GOSL. The Project Company would be allocated 116 Ha and GOSL 62Ha. The remaining 91 Ha is common area, also owned by the GOSL, which includes roads, parks, etc. (This does not include beaches of 13 ha and waterways of 80 ha), also owned by the GOSL.

      So, the Project Company will be able to enjoy commercial benefits from only 43% of the land reclaimed in order to recover its investment. The GOSL will lease the 116 ha of marketable land to the Project Company for 99 years, who will have the right to grant fresh 99 year leases to third party developers

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the permissible developments within the reclaimed land at Port City?

    • Port City will contain the following developments and businesses, undertaken by private local and foreign investors
      • The CIFC Building Complex: Comprising retail, residential and office
      • Other Commercial: Banks, offices and retail, hotels and restaurants
      • Residential: Houses, apartment buildings, serviced apartments
      • Institutions: Healthcare, educational and R& D institutions
      • Small businesses: Retail shops, open air trading areas, beauty salons, bakeries, laundries, printing, small scale art and handcraft and other services such as cafes, kiosks, newspaper stands, food trucks and book shops
      • Entertainment: Amusement park, theatre & music
      • Community: Art galleries, community centres
      • Water Sports: Marina and related facilities
    • In addition, the Project Company will build public parks of 45 hectares of public parks and an artificial beach of around 3 km. No Industrial activities will be allowed within Port City.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Can the general public enjoy the benefits of Port City?

    • Of course. Apart from the many thousands of jobs that will be generated, the general public can enjoy a 3 km long artificial beach, water sports and 45 ha of parks, which will be around 9 times larger than Galle Face Green and all other public spaces incorporated into the master plan

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the important commercial terms of the project?

    • The Port City Project is a Public-Private-Partnership.

      The Project Company will take the entire commercial risk of its investment and also invest in all internal infrastructure of the reclaimed area including roads, water supply etc. The GOSL is obliged to provide all utility and infrastructure connections to the periphery of the site. Under the new Agreement of 2016, the Government has the right to request the Project Company to enter into a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) for the provision of such infrastructure. At the moment, several such PPP projects in roads and utility provision are being examined and are under discussion.

      The marketable land lots will be divided between the Project Company and GOSL according to the following process: The Project Company will have the first right of selection of a block of land, followed by the Government selecting another. As the selection process is iterative, the land allocated to the Project Company will not be a contiguous area.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What is the likely timing for the Project?

    • We should be able to hand over first piece of land for building construction by mid 2018. The reclamation and required internal infrastructure will be completed by 2020

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the main challenges to achieving these deadlines?

    • The construction of breakwater can only be carried out during non-monsoon season. Therefore, the reclamation activities will be dictated by how fast we can build the breakwater.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Who will be responsible for managing common land and will investors need to contribute to these costs?

    • An Estate Management Company (EMC) will be set up as a JV between Project Company and GOSL.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Who are the main technical consultants retained by the Project Company for the various aspects of work?

    • A world class team of consultants has been assembled. International consultants include:
      • Planning and Infrastructure: (Sweco, ATKINS, Faithful+ Gould, Surbana Jurong, AECOM, CDR)
      • Real Estate (JLL, CBRE)
      • Legal ( Pinsent Masons)
      • Advertising and Promotion: (Ogilvy and Mather International , Word search)
      • Environmental protection: (icem)

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Has the Project Company used local experts?

    • Yes, many local engineers and technical and other experts are employed full-time by the Company. In addition, the services of the following local organizations have been used:
      • Planning and Infrastructure: (CECB, SWA)
      • Real Estate: ( TWCorp, RIU)
      • Legal : ( VARNERS , Colombo Law Alliance)
      • Advertising and Promotion : ( Phoenix Ogilvy)
      • Environmental Protection: ( LHI, University of Moratuwa, University of Peradeniya, NARA)

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    When would the Government and the Project Company likely to market their land holdings/interest to investors and will this be a coordinated effort?

    • The first phase of the master planned area (closest to Chaitya road) will be ready for building construction by middle of 2018. Therefore, marketing lands to investors will happen prior to that. The marketing of lands allocated to the GOSL and Project Company will be a coordinated effort to ensure fair valuation so as not to flood the market with excess land. The terms and conditions relating to this have been agreed in the Tripartite Agreement between the GOSL, UDA and the Project Company.

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    Are there any guidelines on building design and specification?

    • We have commissioned Surbana Jurong to prepare detailed Design Control Regulations (DCR). All development within Port City will need to adhere to the conditions stipulated in the DCR including certain parameters related to building design and specifications. Also the Port City Master Plan, once approved by the UDA, can only be changed by mutual consultation and agreement between the Project Company and the GOSL.

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    Can foreigners own residential units in Sri Lanka? Can these be locally funded?

    • Yes, foreigners can own residential condominium properties. The local law relating to foreigners owning residential properties or land applicable anywhere in Sri Lanka are applicable within Port City as well. At the moment, local banks could lend up to 40% of the value of the property to a foreigner. The remainder should be funded by foreign currency inward remittance.

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    What precautions have been taken to protect the reclaimed land and buildings thereon from natural disasters?

    • The Project Company’s international consultants have carried out the following engineering studies (among many more) during the planning, design and construction of Port City.

      Wave Climate Modelling: To study the wave climate of the proposed Ports City Development area and obtain design wave heights for off shore breakwater and revetments.

      Stability of Breakwaters: To study stability of breakwater under extreme wave attack. The test results indicate that the Port City breakwater will remain stable even during a 200 year wave event. The same design criterion was also used to design the breakwater of the Colombo South Port.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Was the Project suspended due to lack of adequate environmental safeguards?

    • In March 2015, the Project Company was informed that the GOSL wished to suspend the project construction and review the licenses obtained prior to commencing construction. The onus of obtaining and providing the relevant environmental approvals lies with the GOSL as per the signed Concession Agreement. Thereafter, in order to address the shortcomings of the EIA of 2012 carried out by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority, a comprehensive Supplementary Environmental Impact Assessment (SEIA) was carried out in 2015 by the Ministry of Megapolis, involving over 25 experts from many fields and reputed institutions.

      This study was made available to the general public for their comments for a period of 30 working days as required under the Law. Around 220 written submissions were sent by various associations, NGO’s environmentalists, fishermen and the general public. Responses to the public comments were evaluated by a Technical Evaluation Committee of over 30 persons and the Advisory Council of the Department of Coast Conservation & Coastal Resources Management. This resulted in the reclamation works commencing under a new Development Permit issued by the Department of Coast Conservation, the Project Approving Agency for the Supplementary EIA.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Do you have the required licenses to carry out reclamation work and rock extraction in Sri Lanka?

    • Yes, the Ministry of Megapolis & Western Development has obtained these licenses on behalf of the Project Company

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What were the key restrictions imposed under the new Development Permit

    • The project company would not dredge for sand in the site that is closer to the shore, but would instead dredge in another site, which is 5 kilometers from the coast line, thereby causing minimal if any disruption to normal coastal fishing activities. Project Company can only dredge for sand at depths of 15 meters or more. At this distance and depth, there are hardly any fish breeding grounds and also no possibility whatsoever of any coastal erosion.

      The maximum depth allowed for scraping sand is 2-3 meters from the seabed with a minimum 0.5 meters of sand preserved. This way, there will not be any concentrated dredging in one area causing disruption to fishing activity or permanent damage to the ocean floor and marine life.

      The Project Company has also been prohibited from dredging in any area that has been identified (with GPS coordinates stipulated by NARA) as being close to reef habitats, spawning areas, breeding areas and fishing grounds. In order to ensure safety, Dredging will follow a dredging plan and a schedule to enable fishing in all areas except a particular dredging cell for a short period of a few days. Fishermen will be educated on the route to be taken by dredgers in advance and warning lights and floating markers will be utilized to demarcate the route. This would be done to ensure that fishermen would be able to identify the area and undertake normal fishing. Dredging distances can be monitored by anyone live via the Internet.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Can it be proved that dredging by Port City does not cause coastal erosion?

    • This fact that coastal erosion cannot happen when dredging beyond the dynamic coastal zone (beyond 2 km from the shoreline) and at depths of more than 8 meters is a scientifically proven fact established by scientists throughout the world. Therefore, anyone claiming that dredging of sand carried out by Port City well in excess of these minimum limits – i.e. more than double the distance from the dynamic coastal zone and double the minimum depth of 8m – is an unsubstantiated statement.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What is the impact on fishing caused due to dredging?

    • The SEIA prohibited the dredging to be carried out in Site 1 (2km from shoreline and NARA recommended Site 2 (5km away from shoreline). Comparatively Site 2 had no well-developed reef system nor any form of sea grass beds. According to NARA, the sea bed comprised mainly of extended sandy habitats and commercially important demersal fish in the Site 2 area was scarce. According to NARA’s research it was found that Site 2 is mostly populated with pelagic fish. Sardinella, Anchovy, Mackerel, Barracuda are some of the species of pelagic fish, which means that these fish feed and breed in the water column and not close to the bottom nor near the shore. Therefore, dredging at the ocean bed has no significant effect on the fish in this area.

      Many of the fishermen stated that there are species of turtles present in this area. However, there has been no record of turtles laying eggs in this area since the 1900’s, but they may be visiting as a part of their migratory route and for food. Though the presence of turtles are rare, the main threat to them is not the dredgers but the fishing nets used by the fishermen themselves. This is because dredging is carried out using a “vacuum cleaning” method where the sand is scraped from the ocean floor with the dredger arm, usually 40 cm at a time. Therefore, a cavity or a hole is never formed as alleged by certain fishermen.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How many cubic meters of rock stones will be required for the whole project?

    • Approximately 3.85 million cubic meters.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    From where will those rocks be obtained?

    • From quarries approximately 48 km radius from the project site.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Will there be sufficient supply of rocks in Sri Lanka to cater to this demand?

    • Yes, rocks are mined from licensed quarries in Colombo and Gampaha District and only around 7% of the licensed quarries from this area are used for this purpose.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What is the process followed to mine these rocks?

    • As per the Central Environmental Authority (CEA), there are processes in place on mining rocks from licensed quarries. We are sourcing rocks from the selected suppliers who hold the license to operate quarries and follow the mining regulations set by Sri Lankan laws.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How much sand will be required for the whole project?

    • Approximately 65 million cubic meters

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Can you elaborate on the Breakwaters, How high will it be? What are the benefits? Sustainability?

    • The Breakwater is being built + 4m from mean sea level. The Breakwater is designed to protect the Port City from rising sea levels and high waves.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Has there been any study done to measure impacts due to sewerage disposal, water demand and supply, discharge of solid waste, traffic impact assessment due to Port City Project?

    • The detailed environmental impacts and mitigation measures connected to the above areas will be carried out in the Phase 2 EIA study that will have to be completed before any buildings are constructed on Port City. However, Chapter 2 pages 80-88 of the SEIA report provides a description of aspects relating to utilities and infrastructure. It needs to be pointed out that utility capacity will be created on the basis of actual demand for such services and therefore utility agencies will obtain a return for the services provided. In the case of road infrastructure, it is envisaged that the higher disposable income of those living and working within Port City will justify the investment in required road and public transport infrastructure to access the Central Business District of Colombo.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Has there any archeological impact assessment done on the project site seabed which is going to be reclaimed?

    • A separate archaeological impact assessment of the project site has been carried out by the Department of Archaeology. The findings of the study are presented in the report “Archaeological Impact Assessment for the Propose New Colombo Port City Development Project, Department of Archaeology of Sri Lanka, 2012”, provided as an Annex to the SEIA. Ship wrecks are not observed within the dredging site.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What will happen to the Galle Face green once the Port City is completed?

    • The SEIA states the Galle Face Green is roughly an area of 5.7 ha. Port City will create around 45 ha of park lands and a 13 ha artificial beach area, all for use by the general public. It is expected that the public spaces of Port City will have better facilities and layouts for small scale entrepreneurs and vendors than the present Galle Face.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Is there a fishermen compensation scheme described in SEIA?

    • No. There is no compensation to individuals, instead there is a livelihood improvement plan for the fishers in the Negombo fisheries district.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How much money is allocated to this scheme? Who shall provide the funds? How long will it be operated?

    • Rs.500 million. CHEC Port City Colombo (Private) Limited, the project company shall provide the funds. The proposed scheme shall be on operational for 3 years.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How will the money allocated for compensation be distributed among affected people? Who will be the responsible agency for that?

    • There will be no cash handouts. 18 programs have been identified with the assistance of the fishery associations to implement within next 3 years. Fishermen’s Livelihood Support Society Limited has been established to implement the programs. They will work under the supervision of Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development and the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Explain the ownership structure of CHEC Port City Colombo (Pvt) Ltd, the investment company of Port City.

    • CHEC Port City Colombo (Private) Limited (the Project Company) is a BOI approved Company specifically set up for the purpose of making a foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Colombo Port City Project. It is a 100% owned subsidiary of China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd (CHEC). China Communications & Construction Company (CCCC) which is the Parent Company of CHEC is listed on the Stock Exchanges of Shanghai and Hong Kong.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Does CCCC have the required financial and technical capability to undertake this investment?

    • Yes, CCCC has a ranking of 110 out of Global Fortune 500 companies with over 1 mn employees and US$ 105 billion in assets (larger than Sri Lanka’s GDP). It is ranked as the 4th largest contractor in the world according to ENR Magazine. CCCC is also China’s largest port design and Construction Company, the No 1 dredging company in the world and the No 1 manufacturer of container cranes, with 75% of world market share.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Has CCCC and CHEC done projects similar to this in the past?

    • Yes, such projects include:
    • The Hong Kong New Airport Platform Project: Listed among the top 10 construction projects of the 20th Century, CHEC undertook the excavation of 90 million cu. m to reclaim 1300 hectares, and built other infrastructure requirements for the airport.
    • The man-made island at Macau International Airport: This project saw the excavation and backfilling of 64 million m3 and Land formation area of 1.152 million square meters.
    • Hong Kong Zhuhai Macau Bridge: This 50 km long bridge and tunnel costing around $10 billion will link the west side of Hong Kong to Macau and the city of Zhuhai in the Guangdong province.
    • Hangzhou Bay Cross-sea Bridge, South China: Totaling 36km in length and 33m in width, the bridge is the longest sea crossing bridge in the world.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Is CCCC a black listed company by the World Bank?

    • The World Bank announced on 14th January 2009 debarring seven companies and one individual for alleged engagement of collusive pricing practices in a road project in the Philippines where bids were called in 2002. Among the companies debarred was China Road and Bridge Engineering Co Ltd (CRBC).

      CRBC became a wholly owned subsidiary of CCCC in 2005. CCCC did NOT own CRBC at the time of the dispute with the World Bank in 2002 and therefore cannot be directly or indirectly implicated in this matter, regardless of the merits of the allegation of price collusion.

      To date, CRBC has not received any claim or allegation raised by the Philippines Government as the owner of the road project.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the overall objectives of the Colombo Port City Project?

    • Colombo cannot become a destination that appeals to the international businesses or tourists with ad-hoc developments. Colombo Port City (CPC) provides an opportunity for the old and historic part of Colombo’s Central Business District (CBD) to interface as a modern planned metropolis. Accordingly, the key objectives of reclaiming 269 hectares of land are:
      • To create a regional business hub, with high quality public spaces and infrastructure facilities
      • To create a tourism hub with attractions such as shopping, culture and entertainment
      • Foster integrated living to provide high quality residential facilities and amenities such as parks, water sports, schools, hospitals etc.
      • To generate investments in real estate development and service sector jobs

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Why build a Port City at this location?

    • The reclamation of land at the proposed location is technically feasible because it is anchored against the 2.5 km long Colombo South Port breakwater. Taking advantage of the breakwater construction to create prime land makes sense because the breakwater acts as a natural location for sand accumulation (due to the sediment transport being from North to South).

      The Project will also expand the Central Business District (CBD) of Colombo 1 to accommodate the Colombo International Financial City (CIFC). Financial centres and related services in city’s such as Singapore, Dubai and Hong Kong usually expand in CBDs. Expanding Colombo’s CBD at any other location would not be possible due to lack of space; in addition, ocean-front CBD real estate has proven to generate greater demand by businesses and residents.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    How large is the Foreign Direct investment in Colombo Port City?

    • CPCC will be investing over US$ 1.4 billion (over Rs.210 billion), thereby making this the largest ever FDI project to be implemented in Sri Lanka so far. This excludes the additional investments to be made on real estate projects once the land is reclaimed.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What is the ownership arrangement of Port City between the Project Company and the Government?

    • All lands reclaimed by the Project Company shall be owned by the Urban Development Authority or any other agency nominated by the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL). Of the total of 269Ha reclaimed, the total saleable/marketable land of approximately 178 Ha is to be divided between the Project Company and GOSL. The Project Company would be allocated 116 Ha and GOSL 62Ha. The remaining 91 Ha is common area, also owned by the GOSL, which includes roads, parks, etc. (This does not include beaches of 13 ha and waterways of 80 ha), also owned by the GOSL.

      So, the Project Company will be able to enjoy commercial benefits from only 43% of the land reclaimed in order to recover its investment. The GOSL will lease the 116 ha of marketable land to the Project Company for 99 years, who will have the right to grant fresh 99 year leases to third party developers

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the permissible developments within the reclaimed land at Port City?

    • Port City will contain the following developments and businesses, undertaken by private local and foreign investors
      • The CIFC Building Complex: Comprising retail, residential and office
      • Other Commercial: Banks, offices and retail, hotels and restaurants
      • Residential: Houses, apartment buildings, serviced apartments
      • Institutions: Healthcare, educational and R& D institutions
      • Small businesses: Retail shops, open air trading areas, beauty salons, bakeries, laundries, printing, small scale art and handcraft and other services such as cafes, kiosks, newspaper stands, food trucks and book shops
      • Entertainment: Amusement park, theatre & music
      • Community: Art galleries, community centres
      • Water Sports: Marina and related facilities
    • In addition, the Project Company will build public parks of 45 hectares of public parks and an artificial beach of around 3 km. No Industrial activities will be allowed within Port City.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Can the general public enjoy the benefits of Port City?

    • Of course. Apart from the many thousands of jobs that will be generated, the general public can enjoy a 3 km long artificial beach, water sports and 45 ha of parks, which will be around 9 times larger than Galle Face Green and all other public spaces incorporated into the master plan

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the important commercial terms of the project?

    • The Port City Project is a Public-Private-Partnership.

      The Project Company will take the entire commercial risk of its investment and also invest in all internal infrastructure of the reclaimed area including roads, water supply etc. The GOSL is obliged to provide all utility and infrastructure connections to the periphery of the site. Under the new Agreement of 2016, the Government has the right to request the Project Company to enter into a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) for the provision of such infrastructure. At the moment, several such PPP projects in roads and utility provision are being examined and are under discussion.

      The marketable land lots will be divided between the Project Company and GOSL according to the following process: The Project Company will have the first right of selection of a block of land, followed by the Government selecting another. As the selection process is iterative, the land allocated to the Project Company will not be a contiguous area.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What is the likely timing for the Project?

    • We should be able to hand over first piece of land for building construction by mid 2018. The reclamation and required internal infrastructure will be completed by 2020

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the main challenges to achieving these deadlines?

    • The construction of breakwater can only be carried out during non-monsoon season. Therefore, the reclamation activities will be dictated by how fast we can build the breakwater.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Who will be responsible for managing common land and will investors need to contribute to these costs?

    • An Estate Management Company (EMC) will be set up as a JV between Project Company and GOSL.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Who are the main technical consultants retained by the Project Company for the various aspects of work?

    • A world class team of consultants has been assembled. International consultants include:
      • Planning and Infrastructure: (Sweco, ATKINS, Faithful+ Gould, Surbana Jurong, AECOM, CDR)
      • Real Estate (JLL, CBRE)
      • Legal ( Pinsent Masons)
      • Advertising and Promotion: (Ogilvy and Mather International , Word search)
      • Environmental protection: (icem)

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Has the Project Company used local experts?

    • Yes, many local engineers and technical and other experts are employed full-time by the Company. In addition, the services of the following local organizations have been used:
      • Planning and Infrastructure: (CECB, SWA)
      • Real Estate: ( TWCorp, RIU)
      • Legal : ( VARNERS , Colombo Law Alliance)
      • Advertising and Promotion : ( Phoenix Ogilvy)
      • Environmental Protection: ( LHI, University of Moratuwa, University of Peradeniya, NARA)

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    When would the Government and the Project Company likely to market their land holdings/interest to investors and will this be a coordinated effort?

    • The first phase of the master planned area (closest to Chaitya road) will be ready for building construction by middle of 2018. Therefore, marketing lands to investors will happen prior to that. The marketing of lands allocated to the GOSL and Project Company will be a coordinated effort to ensure fair valuation so as not to flood the market with excess land. The terms and conditions relating to this have been agreed in the Tripartite Agreement between the GOSL, UDA and the Project Company.

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    Are there any guidelines on building design and specification?

    • We have commissioned Surbana Jurong to prepare detailed Design Control Regulations (DCR). All development within Port City will need to adhere to the conditions stipulated in the DCR including certain parameters related to building design and specifications. Also the Port City Master Plan, once approved by the UDA, can only be changed by mutual consultation and agreement between the Project Company and the GOSL.

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    Can foreigners own residential units in Sri Lanka? Can these be locally funded?

    • Yes, foreigners can own residential condominium properties. The local law relating to foreigners owning residential properties or land applicable anywhere in Sri Lanka are applicable within Port City as well. At the moment, local banks could lend up to 40% of the value of the property to a foreigner. The remainder should be funded by foreign currency inward remittance.

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    What precautions have been taken to protect the reclaimed land and buildings thereon from natural disasters?

    • The Project Company’s international consultants have carried out the following engineering studies (among many more) during the planning, design and construction of Port City.

      Wave Climate Modelling: To study the wave climate of the proposed Ports City Development area and obtain design wave heights for off shore breakwater and revetments.

      Stability of Breakwaters: To study stability of breakwater under extreme wave attack. The test results indicate that the Port City breakwater will remain stable even during a 200 year wave event. The same design criterion was also used to design the breakwater of the Colombo South Port.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Was the Project suspended due to lack of adequate environmental safeguards?

    • In March 2015, the Project Company was informed that the GOSL wished to suspend the project construction and review the licenses obtained prior to commencing construction. The onus of obtaining and providing the relevant environmental approvals lies with the GOSL as per the signed Concession Agreement. Thereafter, in order to address the shortcomings of the EIA of 2012 carried out by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority, a comprehensive Supplementary Environmental Impact Assessment (SEIA) was carried out in 2015 by the Ministry of Megapolis, involving over 25 experts from many fields and reputed institutions.

      This study was made available to the general public for their comments for a period of 30 working days as required under the Law. Around 220 written submissions were sent by various associations, NGO’s environmentalists, fishermen and the general public. Responses to the public comments were evaluated by a Technical Evaluation Committee of over 30 persons and the Advisory Council of the Department of Coast Conservation & Coastal Resources Management. This resulted in the reclamation works commencing under a new Development Permit issued by the Department of Coast Conservation, the Project Approving Agency for the Supplementary EIA.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Do you have the required licenses to carry out reclamation work and rock extraction in Sri Lanka?

    • Yes, the Ministry of Megapolis & Western Development has obtained these licenses on behalf of the Project Company

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What were the key restrictions imposed under the new Development Permit

    • The project company would not dredge for sand in the site that is closer to the shore, but would instead dredge in another site, which is 5 kilometers from the coast line, thereby causing minimal if any disruption to normal coastal fishing activities. Project Company can only dredge for sand at depths of 15 meters or more. At this distance and depth, there are hardly any fish breeding grounds and also no possibility whatsoever of any coastal erosion.

      The maximum depth allowed for scraping sand is 2-3 meters from the seabed with a minimum 0.5 meters of sand preserved. This way, there will not be any concentrated dredging in one area causing disruption to fishing activity or permanent damage to the ocean floor and marine life.

      The Project Company has also been prohibited from dredging in any area that has been identified (with GPS coordinates stipulated by NARA) as being close to reef habitats, spawning areas, breeding areas and fishing grounds. In order to ensure safety, Dredging will follow a dredging plan and a schedule to enable fishing in all areas except a particular dredging cell for a short period of a few days. Fishermen will be educated on the route to be taken by dredgers in advance and warning lights and floating markers will be utilized to demarcate the route. This would be done to ensure that fishermen would be able to identify the area and undertake normal fishing. Dredging distances can be monitored by anyone live via the Internet.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Can it be proved that dredging by Port City does not cause coastal erosion?

    • This fact that coastal erosion cannot happen when dredging beyond the dynamic coastal zone (beyond 2 km from the shoreline) and at depths of more than 8 meters is a scientifically proven fact established by scientists throughout the world. Therefore, anyone claiming that dredging of sand carried out by Port City well in excess of these minimum limits – i.e. more than double the distance from the dynamic coastal zone and double the minimum depth of 8m – is an unsubstantiated statement.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What is the impact on fishing caused due to dredging?

    • The SEIA prohibited the dredging to be carried out in Site 1 (2km from shoreline and NARA recommended Site 2 (5km away from shoreline). Comparatively Site 2 had no well-developed reef system nor any form of sea grass beds. According to NARA, the sea bed comprised mainly of extended sandy habitats and commercially important demersal fish in the Site 2 area was scarce. According to NARA’s research it was found that Site 2 is mostly populated with pelagic fish. Sardinella, Anchovy, Mackerel, Barracuda are some of the species of pelagic fish, which means that these fish feed and breed in the water column and not close to the bottom nor near the shore. Therefore, dredging at the ocean bed has no significant effect on the fish in this area.

      Many of the fishermen stated that there are species of turtles present in this area. However, there has been no record of turtles laying eggs in this area since the 1900’s, but they may be visiting as a part of their migratory route and for food. Though the presence of turtles are rare, the main threat to them is not the dredgers but the fishing nets used by the fishermen themselves. This is because dredging is carried out using a “vacuum cleaning” method where the sand is scraped from the ocean floor with the dredger arm, usually 40 cm at a time. Therefore, a cavity or a hole is never formed as alleged by certain fishermen.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How many cubic meters of rock stones will be required for the whole project?

    • Approximately 3.85 million cubic meters.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    From where will those rocks be obtained?

    • From quarries approximately 48 km radius from the project site.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Will there be sufficient supply of rocks in Sri Lanka to cater to this demand?

    • Yes, rocks are mined from licensed quarries in Colombo and Gampaha District and only around 7% of the licensed quarries from this area are used for this purpose.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What is the process followed to mine these rocks?

    • As per the Central Environmental Authority (CEA), there are processes in place on mining rocks from licensed quarries. We are sourcing rocks from the selected suppliers who hold the license to operate quarries and follow the mining regulations set by Sri Lankan laws.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How much sand will be required for the whole project?

    • Approximately 65 million cubic meters

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Can you elaborate on the Breakwaters, How high will it be? What are the benefits? Sustainability?

    • The Breakwater is being built + 4m from mean sea level. The Breakwater is designed to protect the Port City from rising sea levels and high waves.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Has there been any study done to measure impacts due to sewerage disposal, water demand and supply, discharge of solid waste, traffic impact assessment due to Port City Project?

    • The detailed environmental impacts and mitigation measures connected to the above areas will be carried out in the Phase 2 EIA study that will have to be completed before any buildings are constructed on Port City. However, Chapter 2 pages 80-88 of the SEIA report provides a description of aspects relating to utilities and infrastructure. It needs to be pointed out that utility capacity will be created on the basis of actual demand for such services and therefore utility agencies will obtain a return for the services provided. In the case of road infrastructure, it is envisaged that the higher disposable income of those living and working within Port City will justify the investment in required road and public transport infrastructure to access the Central Business District of Colombo.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Has there any archeological impact assessment done on the project site seabed which is going to be reclaimed?

    • A separate archaeological impact assessment of the project site has been carried out by the Department of Archaeology. The findings of the study are presented in the report “Archaeological Impact Assessment for the Propose New Colombo Port City Development Project, Department of Archaeology of Sri Lanka, 2012”, provided as an Annex to the SEIA. Ship wrecks are not observed within the dredging site.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What will happen to the Galle Face green once the Port City is completed?

    • The SEIA states the Galle Face Green is roughly an area of 5.7 ha. Port City will create around 45 ha of park lands and a 13 ha artificial beach area, all for use by the general public. It is expected that the public spaces of Port City will have better facilities and layouts for small scale entrepreneurs and vendors than the present Galle Face.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Is there a fishermen compensation scheme described in SEIA?

    • No. There is no compensation to individuals, instead there is a livelihood improvement plan for the fishers in the Negombo fisheries district.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How much money is allocated to this scheme? Who shall provide the funds? How long will it be operated?

    • Rs.500 million. CHEC Port City Colombo (Private) Limited, the project company shall provide the funds. The proposed scheme shall be on operational for 3 years.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How will the money allocated for compensation be distributed among affected people? Who will be the responsible agency for that?

    • There will be no cash handouts. 18 programs have been identified with the assistance of the fishery associations to implement within next 3 years. Fishermen’s Livelihood Support Society Limited has been established to implement the programs. They will work under the supervision of Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development and the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Explain the ownership structure of CHEC Port City Colombo (Pvt) Ltd, the investment company of Port City.

    • CHEC Port City Colombo (Private) Limited (the Project Company) is a BOI approved Company specifically set up for the purpose of making a foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Colombo Port City Project. It is a 100% owned subsidiary of China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd (CHEC). China Communications & Construction Company (CCCC) which is the Parent Company of CHEC is listed on the Stock Exchanges of Shanghai and Hong Kong.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Does CCCC have the required financial and technical capability to undertake this investment?

    • Yes, CCCC has a ranking of 110 out of Global Fortune 500 companies with over 1 mn employees and US$ 105 billion in assets (larger than Sri Lanka’s GDP). It is ranked as the 4th largest contractor in the world according to ENR Magazine. CCCC is also China’s largest port design and Construction Company, the No 1 dredging company in the world and the No 1 manufacturer of container cranes, with 75% of world market share.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Has CCCC and CHEC done projects similar to this in the past?

    • Yes, such projects include:
    • The Hong Kong New Airport Platform Project: Listed among the top 10 construction projects of the 20th Century, CHEC undertook the excavation of 90 million cu. m to reclaim 1300 hectares, and built other infrastructure requirements for the airport.
    • The man-made island at Macau International Airport: This project saw the excavation and backfilling of 64 million m3 and Land formation area of 1.152 million square meters.
    • Hong Kong Zhuhai Macau Bridge: This 50 km long bridge and tunnel costing around $10 billion will link the west side of Hong Kong to Macau and the city of Zhuhai in the Guangdong province.
    • Hangzhou Bay Cross-sea Bridge, South China: Totaling 36km in length and 33m in width, the bridge is the longest sea crossing bridge in the world.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Is CCCC a black listed company by the World Bank?

    • The World Bank announced on 14th January 2009 debarring seven companies and one individual for alleged engagement of collusive pricing practices in a road project in the Philippines where bids were called in 2002. Among the companies debarred was China Road and Bridge Engineering Co Ltd (CRBC).

      CRBC became a wholly owned subsidiary of CCCC in 2005. CCCC did NOT own CRBC at the time of the dispute with the World Bank in 2002 and therefore cannot be directly or indirectly implicated in this matter, regardless of the merits of the allegation of price collusion.

      To date, CRBC has not received any claim or allegation raised by the Philippines Government as the owner of the road project.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the overall objectives of the Colombo Port City Project?

    • Colombo cannot become a destination that appeals to the international businesses or tourists with ad-hoc developments. Colombo Port City (CPC) provides an opportunity for the old and historic part of Colombo’s Central Business District (CBD) to interface as a modern planned metropolis. Accordingly, the key objectives of reclaiming 269 hectares of land are:
      • To create a regional business hub, with high quality public spaces and infrastructure facilities
      • To create a tourism hub with attractions such as shopping, culture and entertainment
      • Foster integrated living to provide high quality residential facilities and amenities such as parks, water sports, schools, hospitals etc.
      • To generate investments in real estate development and service sector jobs

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Why build a Port City at this location?

    • The reclamation of land at the proposed location is technically feasible because it is anchored against the 2.5 km long Colombo South Port breakwater. Taking advantage of the breakwater construction to create prime land makes sense because the breakwater acts as a natural location for sand accumulation (due to the sediment transport being from North to South).

      The Project will also expand the Central Business District (CBD) of Colombo 1 to accommodate the Colombo International Financial City (CIFC). Financial centres and related services in city’s such as Singapore, Dubai and Hong Kong usually expand in CBDs. Expanding Colombo’s CBD at any other location would not be possible due to lack of space; in addition, ocean-front CBD real estate has proven to generate greater demand by businesses and residents.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    How large is the Foreign Direct investment in Colombo Port City?

    • CPCC will be investing over US$ 1.4 billion (over Rs.210 billion), thereby making this the largest ever FDI project to be implemented in Sri Lanka so far. This excludes the additional investments to be made on real estate projects once the land is reclaimed.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What is the ownership arrangement of Port City between the Project Company and the Government?

    • All lands reclaimed by the Project Company shall be owned by the Urban Development Authority or any other agency nominated by the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL). Of the total of 269Ha reclaimed, the total saleable/marketable land of approximately 178 Ha is to be divided between the Project Company and GOSL. The Project Company would be allocated 116 Ha and GOSL 62Ha. The remaining 91 Ha is common area, also owned by the GOSL, which includes roads, parks, etc. (This does not include beaches of 13 ha and waterways of 80 ha), also owned by the GOSL.

      So, the Project Company will be able to enjoy commercial benefits from only 43% of the land reclaimed in order to recover its investment. The GOSL will lease the 116 ha of marketable land to the Project Company for 99 years, who will have the right to grant fresh 99 year leases to third party developers

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the permissible developments within the reclaimed land at Port City?

    • Port City will contain the following developments and businesses, undertaken by private local and foreign investors
      • The CIFC Building Complex: Comprising retail, residential and office
      • Other Commercial: Banks, offices and retail, hotels and restaurants
      • Residential: Houses, apartment buildings, serviced apartments
      • Institutions: Healthcare, educational and R& D institutions
      • Small businesses: Retail shops, open air trading areas, beauty salons, bakeries, laundries, printing, small scale art and handcraft and other services such as cafes, kiosks, newspaper stands, food trucks and book shops
      • Entertainment: Amusement park, theatre & music
      • Community: Art galleries, community centres
      • Water Sports: Marina and related facilities
    • In addition, the Project Company will build public parks of 45 hectares of public parks and an artificial beach of around 3 km. No Industrial activities will be allowed within Port City.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Can the general public enjoy the benefits of Port City?

    • Of course. Apart from the many thousands of jobs that will be generated, the general public can enjoy a 3 km long artificial beach, water sports and 45 ha of parks, which will be around 9 times larger than Galle Face Green and all other public spaces incorporated into the master plan

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the important commercial terms of the project?

    • The Port City Project is a Public-Private-Partnership.

      The Project Company will take the entire commercial risk of its investment and also invest in all internal infrastructure of the reclaimed area including roads, water supply etc. The GOSL is obliged to provide all utility and infrastructure connections to the periphery of the site. Under the new Agreement of 2016, the Government has the right to request the Project Company to enter into a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) for the provision of such infrastructure. At the moment, several such PPP projects in roads and utility provision are being examined and are under discussion.

      The marketable land lots will be divided between the Project Company and GOSL according to the following process: The Project Company will have the first right of selection of a block of land, followed by the Government selecting another. As the selection process is iterative, the land allocated to the Project Company will not be a contiguous area.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What is the likely timing for the Project?

    • We should be able to hand over first piece of land for building construction by mid 2018. The reclamation and required internal infrastructure will be completed by 2020

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the main challenges to achieving these deadlines?

    • The construction of breakwater can only be carried out during non-monsoon season. Therefore, the reclamation activities will be dictated by how fast we can build the breakwater.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Who will be responsible for managing common land and will investors need to contribute to these costs?

    • An Estate Management Company (EMC) will be set up as a JV between Project Company and GOSL.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Who are the main technical consultants retained by the Project Company for the various aspects of work?

    • A world class team of consultants has been assembled. International consultants include:
      • Planning and Infrastructure: (Sweco, ATKINS, Faithful+ Gould, Surbana Jurong, AECOM, CDR)
      • Real Estate (JLL, CBRE)
      • Legal ( Pinsent Masons)
      • Advertising and Promotion: (Ogilvy and Mather International , Word search)
      • Environmental protection: (icem)

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Has the Project Company used local experts?

    • Yes, many local engineers and technical and other experts are employed full-time by the Company. In addition, the services of the following local organizations have been used:
      • Planning and Infrastructure: (CECB, SWA)
      • Real Estate: ( TWCorp, RIU)
      • Legal : ( VARNERS , Colombo Law Alliance)
      • Advertising and Promotion : ( Phoenix Ogilvy)
      • Environmental Protection: ( LHI, University of Moratuwa, University of Peradeniya, NARA)

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    When would the Government and the Project Company likely to market their land holdings/interest to investors and will this be a coordinated effort?

    • The first phase of the master planned area (closest to Chaitya road) will be ready for building construction by middle of 2018. Therefore, marketing lands to investors will happen prior to that. The marketing of lands allocated to the GOSL and Project Company will be a coordinated effort to ensure fair valuation so as not to flood the market with excess land. The terms and conditions relating to this have been agreed in the Tripartite Agreement between the GOSL, UDA and the Project Company.

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    Are there any guidelines on building design and specification?

    • We have commissioned Surbana Jurong to prepare detailed Design Control Regulations (DCR). All development within Port City will need to adhere to the conditions stipulated in the DCR including certain parameters related to building design and specifications. Also the Port City Master Plan, once approved by the UDA, can only be changed by mutual consultation and agreement between the Project Company and the GOSL.

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    Can foreigners own residential units in Sri Lanka? Can these be locally funded?

    • Yes, foreigners can own residential condominium properties. The local law relating to foreigners owning residential properties or land applicable anywhere in Sri Lanka are applicable within Port City as well. At the moment, local banks could lend up to 40% of the value of the property to a foreigner. The remainder should be funded by foreign currency inward remittance.

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    What precautions have been taken to protect the reclaimed land and buildings thereon from natural disasters?

    • The Project Company’s international consultants have carried out the following engineering studies (among many more) during the planning, design and construction of Port City.

      Wave Climate Modelling: To study the wave climate of the proposed Ports City Development area and obtain design wave heights for off shore breakwater and revetments.

      Stability of Breakwaters: To study stability of breakwater under extreme wave attack. The test results indicate that the Port City breakwater will remain stable even during a 200 year wave event. The same design criterion was also used to design the breakwater of the Colombo South Port.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Was the Project suspended due to lack of adequate environmental safeguards?

    • In March 2015, the Project Company was informed that the GOSL wished to suspend the project construction and review the licenses obtained prior to commencing construction. The onus of obtaining and providing the relevant environmental approvals lies with the GOSL as per the signed Concession Agreement. Thereafter, in order to address the shortcomings of the EIA of 2012 carried out by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority, a comprehensive Supplementary Environmental Impact Assessment (SEIA) was carried out in 2015 by the Ministry of Megapolis, involving over 25 experts from many fields and reputed institutions.

      This study was made available to the general public for their comments for a period of 30 working days as required under the Law. Around 220 written submissions were sent by various associations, NGO’s environmentalists, fishermen and the general public. Responses to the public comments were evaluated by a Technical Evaluation Committee of over 30 persons and the Advisory Council of the Department of Coast Conservation & Coastal Resources Management. This resulted in the reclamation works commencing under a new Development Permit issued by the Department of Coast Conservation, the Project Approving Agency for the Supplementary EIA.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Do you have the required licenses to carry out reclamation work and rock extraction in Sri Lanka?

    • Yes, the Ministry of Megapolis & Western Development has obtained these licenses on behalf of the Project Company

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What were the key restrictions imposed under the new Development Permit

    • The project company would not dredge for sand in the site that is closer to the shore, but would instead dredge in another site, which is 5 kilometers from the coast line, thereby causing minimal if any disruption to normal coastal fishing activities. Project Company can only dredge for sand at depths of 15 meters or more. At this distance and depth, there are hardly any fish breeding grounds and also no possibility whatsoever of any coastal erosion.

      The maximum depth allowed for scraping sand is 2-3 meters from the seabed with a minimum 0.5 meters of sand preserved. This way, there will not be any concentrated dredging in one area causing disruption to fishing activity or permanent damage to the ocean floor and marine life.

      The Project Company has also been prohibited from dredging in any area that has been identified (with GPS coordinates stipulated by NARA) as being close to reef habitats, spawning areas, breeding areas and fishing grounds. In order to ensure safety, Dredging will follow a dredging plan and a schedule to enable fishing in all areas except a particular dredging cell for a short period of a few days. Fishermen will be educated on the route to be taken by dredgers in advance and warning lights and floating markers will be utilized to demarcate the route. This would be done to ensure that fishermen would be able to identify the area and undertake normal fishing. Dredging distances can be monitored by anyone live via the Internet.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Can it be proved that dredging by Port City does not cause coastal erosion?

    • This fact that coastal erosion cannot happen when dredging beyond the dynamic coastal zone (beyond 2 km from the shoreline) and at depths of more than 8 meters is a scientifically proven fact established by scientists throughout the world. Therefore, anyone claiming that dredging of sand carried out by Port City well in excess of these minimum limits – i.e. more than double the distance from the dynamic coastal zone and double the minimum depth of 8m – is an unsubstantiated statement.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What is the impact on fishing caused due to dredging?

    • The SEIA prohibited the dredging to be carried out in Site 1 (2km from shoreline and NARA recommended Site 2 (5km away from shoreline). Comparatively Site 2 had no well-developed reef system nor any form of sea grass beds. According to NARA, the sea bed comprised mainly of extended sandy habitats and commercially important demersal fish in the Site 2 area was scarce. According to NARA’s research it was found that Site 2 is mostly populated with pelagic fish. Sardinella, Anchovy, Mackerel, Barracuda are some of the species of pelagic fish, which means that these fish feed and breed in the water column and not close to the bottom nor near the shore. Therefore, dredging at the ocean bed has no significant effect on the fish in this area.

      Many of the fishermen stated that there are species of turtles present in this area. However, there has been no record of turtles laying eggs in this area since the 1900’s, but they may be visiting as a part of their migratory route and for food. Though the presence of turtles are rare, the main threat to them is not the dredgers but the fishing nets used by the fishermen themselves. This is because dredging is carried out using a “vacuum cleaning” method where the sand is scraped from the ocean floor with the dredger arm, usually 40 cm at a time. Therefore, a cavity or a hole is never formed as alleged by certain fishermen.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How many cubic meters of rock stones will be required for the whole project?

    • Approximately 3.85 million cubic meters.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    From where will those rocks be obtained?

    • From quarries approximately 48 km radius from the project site.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Will there be sufficient supply of rocks in Sri Lanka to cater to this demand?

    • Yes, rocks are mined from licensed quarries in Colombo and Gampaha District and only around 7% of the licensed quarries from this area are used for this purpose.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What is the process followed to mine these rocks?

    • As per the Central Environmental Authority (CEA), there are processes in place on mining rocks from licensed quarries. We are sourcing rocks from the selected suppliers who hold the license to operate quarries and follow the mining regulations set by Sri Lankan laws.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How much sand will be required for the whole project?

    • Approximately 65 million cubic meters

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Can you elaborate on the Breakwaters, How high will it be? What are the benefits? Sustainability?

    • The Breakwater is being built + 4m from mean sea level. The Breakwater is designed to protect the Port City from rising sea levels and high waves.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Has there been any study done to measure impacts due to sewerage disposal, water demand and supply, discharge of solid waste, traffic impact assessment due to Port City Project?

    • The detailed environmental impacts and mitigation measures connected to the above areas will be carried out in the Phase 2 EIA study that will have to be completed before any buildings are constructed on Port City. However, Chapter 2 pages 80-88 of the SEIA report provides a description of aspects relating to utilities and infrastructure. It needs to be pointed out that utility capacity will be created on the basis of actual demand for such services and therefore utility agencies will obtain a return for the services provided. In the case of road infrastructure, it is envisaged that the higher disposable income of those living and working within Port City will justify the investment in required road and public transport infrastructure to access the Central Business District of Colombo.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Has there any archeological impact assessment done on the project site seabed which is going to be reclaimed?

    • A separate archaeological impact assessment of the project site has been carried out by the Department of Archaeology. The findings of the study are presented in the report “Archaeological Impact Assessment for the Propose New Colombo Port City Development Project, Department of Archaeology of Sri Lanka, 2012”, provided as an Annex to the SEIA. Ship wrecks are not observed within the dredging site.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What will happen to the Galle Face green once the Port City is completed?

    • The SEIA states the Galle Face Green is roughly an area of 5.7 ha. Port City will create around 45 ha of park lands and a 13 ha artificial beach area, all for use by the general public. It is expected that the public spaces of Port City will have better facilities and layouts for small scale entrepreneurs and vendors than the present Galle Face.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Is there a fishermen compensation scheme described in SEIA?

    • No. There is no compensation to individuals, instead there is a livelihood improvement plan for the fishers in the Negombo fisheries district.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How much money is allocated to this scheme? Who shall provide the funds? How long will it be operated?

    • Rs.500 million. CHEC Port City Colombo (Private) Limited, the project company shall provide the funds. The proposed scheme shall be on operational for 3 years.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How will the money allocated for compensation be distributed among affected people? Who will be the responsible agency for that?

    • There will be no cash handouts. 18 programs have been identified with the assistance of the fishery associations to implement within next 3 years. Fishermen’s Livelihood Support Society Limited has been established to implement the programs. They will work under the supervision of Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development and the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Explain the ownership structure of CHEC Port City Colombo (Pvt) Ltd, the investment company of Port City.

    • CHEC Port City Colombo (Private) Limited (the Project Company) is a BOI approved Company specifically set up for the purpose of making a foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Colombo Port City Project. It is a 100% owned subsidiary of China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd (CHEC). China Communications & Construction Company (CCCC) which is the Parent Company of CHEC is listed on the Stock Exchanges of Shanghai and Hong Kong.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Does CCCC have the required financial and technical capability to undertake this investment?

    • Yes, CCCC has a ranking of 110 out of Global Fortune 500 companies with over 1 mn employees and US$ 105 billion in assets (larger than Sri Lanka’s GDP). It is ranked as the 4th largest contractor in the world according to ENR Magazine. CCCC is also China’s largest port design and Construction Company, the No 1 dredging company in the world and the No 1 manufacturer of container cranes, with 75% of world market share.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Has CCCC and CHEC done projects similar to this in the past?

    • Yes, such projects include:
    • The Hong Kong New Airport Platform Project: Listed among the top 10 construction projects of the 20th Century, CHEC undertook the excavation of 90 million cu. m to reclaim 1300 hectares, and built other infrastructure requirements for the airport.
    • The man-made island at Macau International Airport: This project saw the excavation and backfilling of 64 million m3 and Land formation area of 1.152 million square meters.
    • Hong Kong Zhuhai Macau Bridge: This 50 km long bridge and tunnel costing around $10 billion will link the west side of Hong Kong to Macau and the city of Zhuhai in the Guangdong province.
    • Hangzhou Bay Cross-sea Bridge, South China: Totaling 36km in length and 33m in width, the bridge is the longest sea crossing bridge in the world.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Is CCCC a black listed company by the World Bank?

    • The World Bank announced on 14th January 2009 debarring seven companies and one individual for alleged engagement of collusive pricing practices in a road project in the Philippines where bids were called in 2002. Among the companies debarred was China Road and Bridge Engineering Co Ltd (CRBC).

      CRBC became a wholly owned subsidiary of CCCC in 2005. CCCC did NOT own CRBC at the time of the dispute with the World Bank in 2002 and therefore cannot be directly or indirectly implicated in this matter, regardless of the merits of the allegation of price collusion.

      To date, CRBC has not received any claim or allegation raised by the Philippines Government as the owner of the road project.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the overall objectives of the Colombo Port City Project?

    • Colombo cannot become a destination that appeals to the international businesses or tourists with ad-hoc developments. Colombo Port City (CPC) provides an opportunity for the old and historic part of Colombo’s Central Business District (CBD) to interface as a modern planned metropolis. Accordingly, the key objectives of reclaiming 269 hectares of land are:
      • To create a regional business hub, with high quality public spaces and infrastructure facilities
      • To create a tourism hub with attractions such as shopping, culture and entertainment
      • Foster integrated living to provide high quality residential facilities and amenities such as parks, water sports, schools, hospitals etc.
      • To generate investments in real estate development and service sector jobs

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Why build a Port City at this location?

    • The reclamation of land at the proposed location is technically feasible because it is anchored against the 2.5 km long Colombo South Port breakwater. Taking advantage of the breakwater construction to create prime land makes sense because the breakwater acts as a natural location for sand accumulation (due to the sediment transport being from North to South).

      The Project will also expand the Central Business District (CBD) of Colombo 1 to accommodate the Colombo International Financial City (CIFC). Financial centres and related services in city’s such as Singapore, Dubai and Hong Kong usually expand in CBDs. Expanding Colombo’s CBD at any other location would not be possible due to lack of space; in addition, ocean-front CBD real estate has proven to generate greater demand by businesses and residents.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    How large is the Foreign Direct investment in Colombo Port City?

    • CPCC will be investing over US$ 1.4 billion (over Rs.210 billion), thereby making this the largest ever FDI project to be implemented in Sri Lanka so far. This excludes the additional investments to be made on real estate projects once the land is reclaimed.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What is the ownership arrangement of Port City between the Project Company and the Government?

    • All lands reclaimed by the Project Company shall be owned by the Urban Development Authority or any other agency nominated by the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL). Of the total of 269Ha reclaimed, the total saleable/marketable land of approximately 178 Ha is to be divided between the Project Company and GOSL. The Project Company would be allocated 116 Ha and GOSL 62Ha. The remaining 91 Ha is common area, also owned by the GOSL, which includes roads, parks, etc. (This does not include beaches of 13 ha and waterways of 80 ha), also owned by the GOSL.

      So, the Project Company will be able to enjoy commercial benefits from only 43% of the land reclaimed in order to recover its investment. The GOSL will lease the 116 ha of marketable land to the Project Company for 99 years, who will have the right to grant fresh 99 year leases to third party developers

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the permissible developments within the reclaimed land at Port City?

    • Port City will contain the following developments and businesses, undertaken by private local and foreign investors
      • The CIFC Building Complex: Comprising retail, residential and office
      • Other Commercial: Banks, offices and retail, hotels and restaurants
      • Residential: Houses, apartment buildings, serviced apartments
      • Institutions: Healthcare, educational and R& D institutions
      • Small businesses: Retail shops, open air trading areas, beauty salons, bakeries, laundries, printing, small scale art and handcraft and other services such as cafes, kiosks, newspaper stands, food trucks and book shops
      • Entertainment: Amusement park, theatre & music
      • Community: Art galleries, community centres
      • Water Sports: Marina and related facilities
    • In addition, the Project Company will build public parks of 45 hectares of public parks and an artificial beach of around 3 km. No Industrial activities will be allowed within Port City.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Can the general public enjoy the benefits of Port City?

    • Of course. Apart from the many thousands of jobs that will be generated, the general public can enjoy a 3 km long artificial beach, water sports and 45 ha of parks, which will be around 9 times larger than Galle Face Green and all other public spaces incorporated into the master plan

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the important commercial terms of the project?

    • The Port City Project is a Public-Private-Partnership.

      The Project Company will take the entire commercial risk of its investment and also invest in all internal infrastructure of the reclaimed area including roads, water supply etc. The GOSL is obliged to provide all utility and infrastructure connections to the periphery of the site. Under the new Agreement of 2016, the Government has the right to request the Project Company to enter into a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) for the provision of such infrastructure. At the moment, several such PPP projects in roads and utility provision are being examined and are under discussion.

      The marketable land lots will be divided between the Project Company and GOSL according to the following process: The Project Company will have the first right of selection of a block of land, followed by the Government selecting another. As the selection process is iterative, the land allocated to the Project Company will not be a contiguous area.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What is the likely timing for the Project?

    • We should be able to hand over first piece of land for building construction by mid 2018. The reclamation and required internal infrastructure will be completed by 2020

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the main challenges to achieving these deadlines?

    • The construction of breakwater can only be carried out during non-monsoon season. Therefore, the reclamation activities will be dictated by how fast we can build the breakwater.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Who will be responsible for managing common land and will investors need to contribute to these costs?

    • An Estate Management Company (EMC) will be set up as a JV between Project Company and GOSL.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Who are the main technical consultants retained by the Project Company for the various aspects of work?

    • A world class team of consultants has been assembled. International consultants include:
      • Planning and Infrastructure: (Sweco, ATKINS, Faithful+ Gould, Surbana Jurong, AECOM, CDR)
      • Real Estate (JLL, CBRE)
      • Legal ( Pinsent Masons)
      • Advertising and Promotion: (Ogilvy and Mather International , Word search)
      • Environmental protection: (icem)

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Has the Project Company used local experts?

    • Yes, many local engineers and technical and other experts are employed full-time by the Company. In addition, the services of the following local organizations have been used:
      • Planning and Infrastructure: (CECB, SWA)
      • Real Estate: ( TWCorp, RIU)
      • Legal : ( VARNERS , Colombo Law Alliance)
      • Advertising and Promotion : ( Phoenix Ogilvy)
      • Environmental Protection: ( LHI, University of Moratuwa, University of Peradeniya, NARA)

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    When would the Government and the Project Company likely to market their land holdings/interest to investors and will this be a coordinated effort?

    • The first phase of the master planned area (closest to Chaitya road) will be ready for building construction by middle of 2018. Therefore, marketing lands to investors will happen prior to that. The marketing of lands allocated to the GOSL and Project Company will be a coordinated effort to ensure fair valuation so as not to flood the market with excess land. The terms and conditions relating to this have been agreed in the Tripartite Agreement between the GOSL, UDA and the Project Company.

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    Are there any guidelines on building design and specification?

    • We have commissioned Surbana Jurong to prepare detailed Design Control Regulations (DCR). All development within Port City will need to adhere to the conditions stipulated in the DCR including certain parameters related to building design and specifications. Also the Port City Master Plan, once approved by the UDA, can only be changed by mutual consultation and agreement between the Project Company and the GOSL.

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    Can foreigners own residential units in Sri Lanka? Can these be locally funded?

    • Yes, foreigners can own residential condominium properties. The local law relating to foreigners owning residential properties or land applicable anywhere in Sri Lanka are applicable within Port City as well. At the moment, local banks could lend up to 40% of the value of the property to a foreigner. The remainder should be funded by foreign currency inward remittance.

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    What precautions have been taken to protect the reclaimed land and buildings thereon from natural disasters?

    • The Project Company’s international consultants have carried out the following engineering studies (among many more) during the planning, design and construction of Port City.

      Wave Climate Modelling: To study the wave climate of the proposed Ports City Development area and obtain design wave heights for off shore breakwater and revetments.

      Stability of Breakwaters: To study stability of breakwater under extreme wave attack. The test results indicate that the Port City breakwater will remain stable even during a 200 year wave event. The same design criterion was also used to design the breakwater of the Colombo South Port.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Was the Project suspended due to lack of adequate environmental safeguards?

    • In March 2015, the Project Company was informed that the GOSL wished to suspend the project construction and review the licenses obtained prior to commencing construction. The onus of obtaining and providing the relevant environmental approvals lies with the GOSL as per the signed Concession Agreement. Thereafter, in order to address the shortcomings of the EIA of 2012 carried out by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority, a comprehensive Supplementary Environmental Impact Assessment (SEIA) was carried out in 2015 by the Ministry of Megapolis, involving over 25 experts from many fields and reputed institutions.

      This study was made available to the general public for their comments for a period of 30 working days as required under the Law. Around 220 written submissions were sent by various associations, NGO’s environmentalists, fishermen and the general public. Responses to the public comments were evaluated by a Technical Evaluation Committee of over 30 persons and the Advisory Council of the Department of Coast Conservation & Coastal Resources Management. This resulted in the reclamation works commencing under a new Development Permit issued by the Department of Coast Conservation, the Project Approving Agency for the Supplementary EIA.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Do you have the required licenses to carry out reclamation work and rock extraction in Sri Lanka?

    • Yes, the Ministry of Megapolis & Western Development has obtained these licenses on behalf of the Project Company

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What were the key restrictions imposed under the new Development Permit

    • The project company would not dredge for sand in the site that is closer to the shore, but would instead dredge in another site, which is 5 kilometers from the coast line, thereby causing minimal if any disruption to normal coastal fishing activities. Project Company can only dredge for sand at depths of 15 meters or more. At this distance and depth, there are hardly any fish breeding grounds and also no possibility whatsoever of any coastal erosion.

      The maximum depth allowed for scraping sand is 2-3 meters from the seabed with a minimum 0.5 meters of sand preserved. This way, there will not be any concentrated dredging in one area causing disruption to fishing activity or permanent damage to the ocean floor and marine life.

      The Project Company has also been prohibited from dredging in any area that has been identified (with GPS coordinates stipulated by NARA) as being close to reef habitats, spawning areas, breeding areas and fishing grounds. In order to ensure safety, Dredging will follow a dredging plan and a schedule to enable fishing in all areas except a particular dredging cell for a short period of a few days. Fishermen will be educated on the route to be taken by dredgers in advance and warning lights and floating markers will be utilized to demarcate the route. This would be done to ensure that fishermen would be able to identify the area and undertake normal fishing. Dredging distances can be monitored by anyone live via the Internet.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Can it be proved that dredging by Port City does not cause coastal erosion?

    • This fact that coastal erosion cannot happen when dredging beyond the dynamic coastal zone (beyond 2 km from the shoreline) and at depths of more than 8 meters is a scientifically proven fact established by scientists throughout the world. Therefore, anyone claiming that dredging of sand carried out by Port City well in excess of these minimum limits – i.e. more than double the distance from the dynamic coastal zone and double the minimum depth of 8m – is an unsubstantiated statement.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What is the impact on fishing caused due to dredging?

    • The SEIA prohibited the dredging to be carried out in Site 1 (2km from shoreline and NARA recommended Site 2 (5km away from shoreline). Comparatively Site 2 had no well-developed reef system nor any form of sea grass beds. According to NARA, the sea bed comprised mainly of extended sandy habitats and commercially important demersal fish in the Site 2 area was scarce. According to NARA’s research it was found that Site 2 is mostly populated with pelagic fish. Sardinella, Anchovy, Mackerel, Barracuda are some of the species of pelagic fish, which means that these fish feed and breed in the water column and not close to the bottom nor near the shore. Therefore, dredging at the ocean bed has no significant effect on the fish in this area.

      Many of the fishermen stated that there are species of turtles present in this area. However, there has been no record of turtles laying eggs in this area since the 1900’s, but they may be visiting as a part of their migratory route and for food. Though the presence of turtles are rare, the main threat to them is not the dredgers but the fishing nets used by the fishermen themselves. This is because dredging is carried out using a “vacuum cleaning” method where the sand is scraped from the ocean floor with the dredger arm, usually 40 cm at a time. Therefore, a cavity or a hole is never formed as alleged by certain fishermen.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How many cubic meters of rock stones will be required for the whole project?

    • Approximately 3.85 million cubic meters.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    From where will those rocks be obtained?

    • From quarries approximately 48 km radius from the project site.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Will there be sufficient supply of rocks in Sri Lanka to cater to this demand?

    • Yes, rocks are mined from licensed quarries in Colombo and Gampaha District and only around 7% of the licensed quarries from this area are used for this purpose.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What is the process followed to mine these rocks?

    • As per the Central Environmental Authority (CEA), there are processes in place on mining rocks from licensed quarries. We are sourcing rocks from the selected suppliers who hold the license to operate quarries and follow the mining regulations set by Sri Lankan laws.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How much sand will be required for the whole project?

    • Approximately 65 million cubic meters

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Can you elaborate on the Breakwaters, How high will it be? What are the benefits? Sustainability?

    • The Breakwater is being built + 4m from mean sea level. The Breakwater is designed to protect the Port City from rising sea levels and high waves.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Has there been any study done to measure impacts due to sewerage disposal, water demand and supply, discharge of solid waste, traffic impact assessment due to Port City Project?

    • The detailed environmental impacts and mitigation measures connected to the above areas will be carried out in the Phase 2 EIA study that will have to be completed before any buildings are constructed on Port City. However, Chapter 2 pages 80-88 of the SEIA report provides a description of aspects relating to utilities and infrastructure. It needs to be pointed out that utility capacity will be created on the basis of actual demand for such services and therefore utility agencies will obtain a return for the services provided. In the case of road infrastructure, it is envisaged that the higher disposable income of those living and working within Port City will justify the investment in required road and public transport infrastructure to access the Central Business District of Colombo.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Has there any archeological impact assessment done on the project site seabed which is going to be reclaimed?

    • A separate archaeological impact assessment of the project site has been carried out by the Department of Archaeology. The findings of the study are presented in the report “Archaeological Impact Assessment for the Propose New Colombo Port City Development Project, Department of Archaeology of Sri Lanka, 2012”, provided as an Annex to the SEIA. Ship wrecks are not observed within the dredging site.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What will happen to the Galle Face green once the Port City is completed?

    • The SEIA states the Galle Face Green is roughly an area of 5.7 ha. Port City will create around 45 ha of park lands and a 13 ha artificial beach area, all for use by the general public. It is expected that the public spaces of Port City will have better facilities and layouts for small scale entrepreneurs and vendors than the present Galle Face.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Is there a fishermen compensation scheme described in SEIA?

    • No. There is no compensation to individuals, instead there is a livelihood improvement plan for the fishers in the Negombo fisheries district.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How much money is allocated to this scheme? Who shall provide the funds? How long will it be operated?

    • Rs.500 million. CHEC Port City Colombo (Private) Limited, the project company shall provide the funds. The proposed scheme shall be on operational for 3 years.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How will the money allocated for compensation be distributed among affected people? Who will be the responsible agency for that?

    • There will be no cash handouts. 18 programs have been identified with the assistance of the fishery associations to implement within next 3 years. Fishermen’s Livelihood Support Society Limited has been established to implement the programs. They will work under the supervision of Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development and the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Explain the ownership structure of CHEC Port City Colombo (Pvt) Ltd, the investment company of Port City.

    • CHEC Port City Colombo (Private) Limited (the Project Company) is a BOI approved Company specifically set up for the purpose of making a foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Colombo Port City Project. It is a 100% owned subsidiary of China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd (CHEC). China Communications & Construction Company (CCCC) which is the Parent Company of CHEC is listed on the Stock Exchanges of Shanghai and Hong Kong.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Does CCCC have the required financial and technical capability to undertake this investment?

    • Yes, CCCC has a ranking of 110 out of Global Fortune 500 companies with over 1 mn employees and US$ 105 billion in assets (larger than Sri Lanka’s GDP). It is ranked as the 4th largest contractor in the world according to ENR Magazine. CCCC is also China’s largest port design and Construction Company, the No 1 dredging company in the world and the No 1 manufacturer of container cranes, with 75% of world market share.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Has CCCC and CHEC done projects similar to this in the past?

    • Yes, such projects include:
    • The Hong Kong New Airport Platform Project: Listed among the top 10 construction projects of the 20th Century, CHEC undertook the excavation of 90 million cu. m to reclaim 1300 hectares, and built other infrastructure requirements for the airport.
    • The man-made island at Macau International Airport: This project saw the excavation and backfilling of 64 million m3 and Land formation area of 1.152 million square meters.
    • Hong Kong Zhuhai Macau Bridge: This 50 km long bridge and tunnel costing around $10 billion will link the west side of Hong Kong to Macau and the city of Zhuhai in the Guangdong province.
    • Hangzhou Bay Cross-sea Bridge, South China: Totaling 36km in length and 33m in width, the bridge is the longest sea crossing bridge in the world.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Is CCCC a black listed company by the World Bank?

    • The World Bank announced on 14th January 2009 debarring seven companies and one individual for alleged engagement of collusive pricing practices in a road project in the Philippines where bids were called in 2002. Among the companies debarred was China Road and Bridge Engineering Co Ltd (CRBC).

      CRBC became a wholly owned subsidiary of CCCC in 2005. CCCC did NOT own CRBC at the time of the dispute with the World Bank in 2002 and therefore cannot be directly or indirectly implicated in this matter, regardless of the merits of the allegation of price collusion.

      To date, CRBC has not received any claim or allegation raised by the Philippines Government as the owner of the road project.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the overall objectives of the Colombo Port City Project?

    • Colombo cannot become a destination that appeals to the international businesses or tourists with ad-hoc developments. Colombo Port City (CPC) provides an opportunity for the old and historic part of Colombo’s Central Business District (CBD) to interface as a modern planned metropolis. Accordingly, the key objectives of reclaiming 269 hectares of land are:
      • To create a regional business hub, with high quality public spaces and infrastructure facilities
      • To create a tourism hub with attractions such as shopping, culture and entertainment
      • Foster integrated living to provide high quality residential facilities and amenities such as parks, water sports, schools, hospitals etc.
      • To generate investments in real estate development and service sector jobs

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Why build a Port City at this location?

    • The reclamation of land at the proposed location is technically feasible because it is anchored against the 2.5 km long Colombo South Port breakwater. Taking advantage of the breakwater construction to create prime land makes sense because the breakwater acts as a natural location for sand accumulation (due to the sediment transport being from North to South).

      The Project will also expand the Central Business District (CBD) of Colombo 1 to accommodate the Colombo International Financial City (CIFC). Financial centres and related services in city’s such as Singapore, Dubai and Hong Kong usually expand in CBDs. Expanding Colombo’s CBD at any other location would not be possible due to lack of space; in addition, ocean-front CBD real estate has proven to generate greater demand by businesses and residents.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    How large is the Foreign Direct investment in Colombo Port City?

    • CPCC will be investing over US$ 1.4 billion (over Rs.210 billion), thereby making this the largest ever FDI project to be implemented in Sri Lanka so far. This excludes the additional investments to be made on real estate projects once the land is reclaimed.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What is the ownership arrangement of Port City between the Project Company and the Government?

    • All lands reclaimed by the Project Company shall be owned by the Urban Development Authority or any other agency nominated by the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL). Of the total of 269Ha reclaimed, the total saleable/marketable land of approximately 178 Ha is to be divided between the Project Company and GOSL. The Project Company would be allocated 116 Ha and GOSL 62Ha. The remaining 91 Ha is common area, also owned by the GOSL, which includes roads, parks, etc. (This does not include beaches of 13 ha and waterways of 80 ha), also owned by the GOSL.

      So, the Project Company will be able to enjoy commercial benefits from only 43% of the land reclaimed in order to recover its investment. The GOSL will lease the 116 ha of marketable land to the Project Company for 99 years, who will have the right to grant fresh 99 year leases to third party developers

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the permissible developments within the reclaimed land at Port City?

    • Port City will contain the following developments and businesses, undertaken by private local and foreign investors
      • The CIFC Building Complex: Comprising retail, residential and office
      • Other Commercial: Banks, offices and retail, hotels and restaurants
      • Residential: Houses, apartment buildings, serviced apartments
      • Institutions: Healthcare, educational and R& D institutions
      • Small businesses: Retail shops, open air trading areas, beauty salons, bakeries, laundries, printing, small scale art and handcraft and other services such as cafes, kiosks, newspaper stands, food trucks and book shops
      • Entertainment: Amusement park, theatre & music
      • Community: Art galleries, community centres
      • Water Sports: Marina and related facilities
    • In addition, the Project Company will build public parks of 45 hectares of public parks and an artificial beach of around 3 km. No Industrial activities will be allowed within Port City.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Can the general public enjoy the benefits of Port City?

    • Of course. Apart from the many thousands of jobs that will be generated, the general public can enjoy a 3 km long artificial beach, water sports and 45 ha of parks, which will be around 9 times larger than Galle Face Green and all other public spaces incorporated into the master plan

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the important commercial terms of the project?

    • The Port City Project is a Public-Private-Partnership.

      The Project Company will take the entire commercial risk of its investment and also invest in all internal infrastructure of the reclaimed area including roads, water supply etc. The GOSL is obliged to provide all utility and infrastructure connections to the periphery of the site. Under the new Agreement of 2016, the Government has the right to request the Project Company to enter into a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) for the provision of such infrastructure. At the moment, several such PPP projects in roads and utility provision are being examined and are under discussion.

      The marketable land lots will be divided between the Project Company and GOSL according to the following process: The Project Company will have the first right of selection of a block of land, followed by the Government selecting another. As the selection process is iterative, the land allocated to the Project Company will not be a contiguous area.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What is the likely timing for the Project?

    • We should be able to hand over first piece of land for building construction by mid 2018. The reclamation and required internal infrastructure will be completed by 2020

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the main challenges to achieving these deadlines?

    • The construction of breakwater can only be carried out during non-monsoon season. Therefore, the reclamation activities will be dictated by how fast we can build the breakwater.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Who will be responsible for managing common land and will investors need to contribute to these costs?

    • An Estate Management Company (EMC) will be set up as a JV between Project Company and GOSL.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Who are the main technical consultants retained by the Project Company for the various aspects of work?

    • A world class team of consultants has been assembled. International consultants include:
      • Planning and Infrastructure: (Sweco, ATKINS, Faithful+ Gould, Surbana Jurong, AECOM, CDR)
      • Real Estate (JLL, CBRE)
      • Legal ( Pinsent Masons)
      • Advertising and Promotion: (Ogilvy and Mather International , Word search)
      • Environmental protection: (icem)

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Has the Project Company used local experts?

    • Yes, many local engineers and technical and other experts are employed full-time by the Company. In addition, the services of the following local organizations have been used:
      • Planning and Infrastructure: (CECB, SWA)
      • Real Estate: ( TWCorp, RIU)
      • Legal : ( VARNERS , Colombo Law Alliance)
      • Advertising and Promotion : ( Phoenix Ogilvy)
      • Environmental Protection: ( LHI, University of Moratuwa, University of Peradeniya, NARA)

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    When would the Government and the Project Company likely to market their land holdings/interest to investors and will this be a coordinated effort?

    • The first phase of the master planned area (closest to Chaitya road) will be ready for building construction by middle of 2018. Therefore, marketing lands to investors will happen prior to that. The marketing of lands allocated to the GOSL and Project Company will be a coordinated effort to ensure fair valuation so as not to flood the market with excess land. The terms and conditions relating to this have been agreed in the Tripartite Agreement between the GOSL, UDA and the Project Company.

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    Are there any guidelines on building design and specification?

    • We have commissioned Surbana Jurong to prepare detailed Design Control Regulations (DCR). All development within Port City will need to adhere to the conditions stipulated in the DCR including certain parameters related to building design and specifications. Also the Port City Master Plan, once approved by the UDA, can only be changed by mutual consultation and agreement between the Project Company and the GOSL.

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    Can foreigners own residential units in Sri Lanka? Can these be locally funded?

    • Yes, foreigners can own residential condominium properties. The local law relating to foreigners owning residential properties or land applicable anywhere in Sri Lanka are applicable within Port City as well. At the moment, local banks could lend up to 40% of the value of the property to a foreigner. The remainder should be funded by foreign currency inward remittance.

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    What precautions have been taken to protect the reclaimed land and buildings thereon from natural disasters?

    • The Project Company’s international consultants have carried out the following engineering studies (among many more) during the planning, design and construction of Port City.

      Wave Climate Modelling: To study the wave climate of the proposed Ports City Development area and obtain design wave heights for off shore breakwater and revetments.

      Stability of Breakwaters: To study stability of breakwater under extreme wave attack. The test results indicate that the Port City breakwater will remain stable even during a 200 year wave event. The same design criterion was also used to design the breakwater of the Colombo South Port.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Was the Project suspended due to lack of adequate environmental safeguards?

    • In March 2015, the Project Company was informed that the GOSL wished to suspend the project construction and review the licenses obtained prior to commencing construction. The onus of obtaining and providing the relevant environmental approvals lies with the GOSL as per the signed Concession Agreement. Thereafter, in order to address the shortcomings of the EIA of 2012 carried out by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority, a comprehensive Supplementary Environmental Impact Assessment (SEIA) was carried out in 2015 by the Ministry of Megapolis, involving over 25 experts from many fields and reputed institutions.

      This study was made available to the general public for their comments for a period of 30 working days as required under the Law. Around 220 written submissions were sent by various associations, NGO’s environmentalists, fishermen and the general public. Responses to the public comments were evaluated by a Technical Evaluation Committee of over 30 persons and the Advisory Council of the Department of Coast Conservation & Coastal Resources Management. This resulted in the reclamation works commencing under a new Development Permit issued by the Department of Coast Conservation, the Project Approving Agency for the Supplementary EIA.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Do you have the required licenses to carry out reclamation work and rock extraction in Sri Lanka?

    • Yes, the Ministry of Megapolis & Western Development has obtained these licenses on behalf of the Project Company

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What were the key restrictions imposed under the new Development Permit

    • The project company would not dredge for sand in the site that is closer to the shore, but would instead dredge in another site, which is 5 kilometers from the coast line, thereby causing minimal if any disruption to normal coastal fishing activities. Project Company can only dredge for sand at depths of 15 meters or more. At this distance and depth, there are hardly any fish breeding grounds and also no possibility whatsoever of any coastal erosion.

      The maximum depth allowed for scraping sand is 2-3 meters from the seabed with a minimum 0.5 meters of sand preserved. This way, there will not be any concentrated dredging in one area causing disruption to fishing activity or permanent damage to the ocean floor and marine life.

      The Project Company has also been prohibited from dredging in any area that has been identified (with GPS coordinates stipulated by NARA) as being close to reef habitats, spawning areas, breeding areas and fishing grounds. In order to ensure safety, Dredging will follow a dredging plan and a schedule to enable fishing in all areas except a particular dredging cell for a short period of a few days. Fishermen will be educated on the route to be taken by dredgers in advance and warning lights and floating markers will be utilized to demarcate the route. This would be done to ensure that fishermen would be able to identify the area and undertake normal fishing. Dredging distances can be monitored by anyone live via the Internet.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Can it be proved that dredging by Port City does not cause coastal erosion?

    • This fact that coastal erosion cannot happen when dredging beyond the dynamic coastal zone (beyond 2 km from the shoreline) and at depths of more than 8 meters is a scientifically proven fact established by scientists throughout the world. Therefore, anyone claiming that dredging of sand carried out by Port City well in excess of these minimum limits – i.e. more than double the distance from the dynamic coastal zone and double the minimum depth of 8m – is an unsubstantiated statement.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What is the impact on fishing caused due to dredging?

    • The SEIA prohibited the dredging to be carried out in Site 1 (2km from shoreline and NARA recommended Site 2 (5km away from shoreline). Comparatively Site 2 had no well-developed reef system nor any form of sea grass beds. According to NARA, the sea bed comprised mainly of extended sandy habitats and commercially important demersal fish in the Site 2 area was scarce. According to NARA’s research it was found that Site 2 is mostly populated with pelagic fish. Sardinella, Anchovy, Mackerel, Barracuda are some of the species of pelagic fish, which means that these fish feed and breed in the water column and not close to the bottom nor near the shore. Therefore, dredging at the ocean bed has no significant effect on the fish in this area.

      Many of the fishermen stated that there are species of turtles present in this area. However, there has been no record of turtles laying eggs in this area since the 1900’s, but they may be visiting as a part of their migratory route and for food. Though the presence of turtles are rare, the main threat to them is not the dredgers but the fishing nets used by the fishermen themselves. This is because dredging is carried out using a “vacuum cleaning” method where the sand is scraped from the ocean floor with the dredger arm, usually 40 cm at a time. Therefore, a cavity or a hole is never formed as alleged by certain fishermen.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How many cubic meters of rock stones will be required for the whole project?

    • Approximately 3.85 million cubic meters.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    From where will those rocks be obtained?

    • From quarries approximately 48 km radius from the project site.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Will there be sufficient supply of rocks in Sri Lanka to cater to this demand?

    • Yes, rocks are mined from licensed quarries in Colombo and Gampaha District and only around 7% of the licensed quarries from this area are used for this purpose.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What is the process followed to mine these rocks?

    • As per the Central Environmental Authority (CEA), there are processes in place on mining rocks from licensed quarries. We are sourcing rocks from the selected suppliers who hold the license to operate quarries and follow the mining regulations set by Sri Lankan laws.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How much sand will be required for the whole project?

    • Approximately 65 million cubic meters

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Can you elaborate on the Breakwaters, How high will it be? What are the benefits? Sustainability?

    • The Breakwater is being built + 4m from mean sea level. The Breakwater is designed to protect the Port City from rising sea levels and high waves.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Has there been any study done to measure impacts due to sewerage disposal, water demand and supply, discharge of solid waste, traffic impact assessment due to Port City Project?

    • The detailed environmental impacts and mitigation measures connected to the above areas will be carried out in the Phase 2 EIA study that will have to be completed before any buildings are constructed on Port City. However, Chapter 2 pages 80-88 of the SEIA report provides a description of aspects relating to utilities and infrastructure. It needs to be pointed out that utility capacity will be created on the basis of actual demand for such services and therefore utility agencies will obtain a return for the services provided. In the case of road infrastructure, it is envisaged that the higher disposable income of those living and working within Port City will justify the investment in required road and public transport infrastructure to access the Central Business District of Colombo.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Has there any archeological impact assessment done on the project site seabed which is going to be reclaimed?

    • A separate archaeological impact assessment of the project site has been carried out by the Department of Archaeology. The findings of the study are presented in the report “Archaeological Impact Assessment for the Propose New Colombo Port City Development Project, Department of Archaeology of Sri Lanka, 2012”, provided as an Annex to the SEIA. Ship wrecks are not observed within the dredging site.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What will happen to the Galle Face green once the Port City is completed?

    • The SEIA states the Galle Face Green is roughly an area of 5.7 ha. Port City will create around 45 ha of park lands and a 13 ha artificial beach area, all for use by the general public. It is expected that the public spaces of Port City will have better facilities and layouts for small scale entrepreneurs and vendors than the present Galle Face.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Is there a fishermen compensation scheme described in SEIA?

    • No. There is no compensation to individuals, instead there is a livelihood improvement plan for the fishers in the Negombo fisheries district.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How much money is allocated to this scheme? Who shall provide the funds? How long will it be operated?

    • Rs.500 million. CHEC Port City Colombo (Private) Limited, the project company shall provide the funds. The proposed scheme shall be on operational for 3 years.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How will the money allocated for compensation be distributed among affected people? Who will be the responsible agency for that?

    • There will be no cash handouts. 18 programs have been identified with the assistance of the fishery associations to implement within next 3 years. Fishermen’s Livelihood Support Society Limited has been established to implement the programs. They will work under the supervision of Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development and the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Explain the ownership structure of CHEC Port City Colombo (Pvt) Ltd, the investment company of Port City.

    • CHEC Port City Colombo (Private) Limited (the Project Company) is a BOI approved Company specifically set up for the purpose of making a foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Colombo Port City Project. It is a 100% owned subsidiary of China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd (CHEC). China Communications & Construction Company (CCCC) which is the Parent Company of CHEC is listed on the Stock Exchanges of Shanghai and Hong Kong.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Does CCCC have the required financial and technical capability to undertake this investment?

    • Yes, CCCC has a ranking of 110 out of Global Fortune 500 companies with over 1 mn employees and US$ 105 billion in assets (larger than Sri Lanka’s GDP). It is ranked as the 4th largest contractor in the world according to ENR Magazine. CCCC is also China’s largest port design and Construction Company, the No 1 dredging company in the world and the No 1 manufacturer of container cranes, with 75% of world market share.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Has CCCC and CHEC done projects similar to this in the past?

    • Yes, such projects include:
    • The Hong Kong New Airport Platform Project: Listed among the top 10 construction projects of the 20th Century, CHEC undertook the excavation of 90 million cu. m to reclaim 1300 hectares, and built other infrastructure requirements for the airport.
    • The man-made island at Macau International Airport: This project saw the excavation and backfilling of 64 million m3 and Land formation area of 1.152 million square meters.
    • Hong Kong Zhuhai Macau Bridge: This 50 km long bridge and tunnel costing around $10 billion will link the west side of Hong Kong to Macau and the city of Zhuhai in the Guangdong province.
    • Hangzhou Bay Cross-sea Bridge, South China: Totaling 36km in length and 33m in width, the bridge is the longest sea crossing bridge in the world.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Is CCCC a black listed company by the World Bank?

    • The World Bank announced on 14th January 2009 debarring seven companies and one individual for alleged engagement of collusive pricing practices in a road project in the Philippines where bids were called in 2002. Among the companies debarred was China Road and Bridge Engineering Co Ltd (CRBC).

      CRBC became a wholly owned subsidiary of CCCC in 2005. CCCC did NOT own CRBC at the time of the dispute with the World Bank in 2002 and therefore cannot be directly or indirectly implicated in this matter, regardless of the merits of the allegation of price collusion.

      To date, CRBC has not received any claim or allegation raised by the Philippines Government as the owner of the road project.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the overall objectives of the Colombo Port City Project?

    • Colombo cannot become a destination that appeals to the international businesses or tourists with ad-hoc developments. Colombo Port City (CPC) provides an opportunity for the old and historic part of Colombo’s Central Business District (CBD) to interface as a modern planned metropolis. Accordingly, the key objectives of reclaiming 269 hectares of land are:
      • To create a regional business hub, with high quality public spaces and infrastructure facilities
      • To create a tourism hub with attractions such as shopping, culture and entertainment
      • Foster integrated living to provide high quality residential facilities and amenities such as parks, water sports, schools, hospitals etc.
      • To generate investments in real estate development and service sector jobs

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Why build a Port City at this location?

    • The reclamation of land at the proposed location is technically feasible because it is anchored against the 2.5 km long Colombo South Port breakwater. Taking advantage of the breakwater construction to create prime land makes sense because the breakwater acts as a natural location for sand accumulation (due to the sediment transport being from North to South).

      The Project will also expand the Central Business District (CBD) of Colombo 1 to accommodate the Colombo International Financial City (CIFC). Financial centres and related services in city’s such as Singapore, Dubai and Hong Kong usually expand in CBDs. Expanding Colombo’s CBD at any other location would not be possible due to lack of space; in addition, ocean-front CBD real estate has proven to generate greater demand by businesses and residents.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    How large is the Foreign Direct investment in Colombo Port City?

    • CPCC will be investing over US$ 1.4 billion (over Rs.210 billion), thereby making this the largest ever FDI project to be implemented in Sri Lanka so far. This excludes the additional investments to be made on real estate projects once the land is reclaimed.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What is the ownership arrangement of Port City between the Project Company and the Government?

    • All lands reclaimed by the Project Company shall be owned by the Urban Development Authority or any other agency nominated by the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL). Of the total of 269Ha reclaimed, the total saleable/marketable land of approximately 178 Ha is to be divided between the Project Company and GOSL. The Project Company would be allocated 116 Ha and GOSL 62Ha. The remaining 91 Ha is common area, also owned by the GOSL, which includes roads, parks, etc. (This does not include beaches of 13 ha and waterways of 80 ha), also owned by the GOSL.

      So, the Project Company will be able to enjoy commercial benefits from only 43% of the land reclaimed in order to recover its investment. The GOSL will lease the 116 ha of marketable land to the Project Company for 99 years, who will have the right to grant fresh 99 year leases to third party developers

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the permissible developments within the reclaimed land at Port City?

    • Port City will contain the following developments and businesses, undertaken by private local and foreign investors
      • The CIFC Building Complex: Comprising retail, residential and office
      • Other Commercial: Banks, offices and retail, hotels and restaurants
      • Residential: Houses, apartment buildings, serviced apartments
      • Institutions: Healthcare, educational and R& D institutions
      • Small businesses: Retail shops, open air trading areas, beauty salons, bakeries, laundries, printing, small scale art and handcraft and other services such as cafes, kiosks, newspaper stands, food trucks and book shops
      • Entertainment: Amusement park, theatre & music
      • Community: Art galleries, community centres
      • Water Sports: Marina and related facilities
    • In addition, the Project Company will build public parks of 45 hectares of public parks and an artificial beach of around 3 km. No Industrial activities will be allowed within Port City.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Can the general public enjoy the benefits of Port City?

    • Of course. Apart from the many thousands of jobs that will be generated, the general public can enjoy a 3 km long artificial beach, water sports and 45 ha of parks, which will be around 9 times larger than Galle Face Green and all other public spaces incorporated into the master plan

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the important commercial terms of the project?

    • The Port City Project is a Public-Private-Partnership.

      The Project Company will take the entire commercial risk of its investment and also invest in all internal infrastructure of the reclaimed area including roads, water supply etc. The GOSL is obliged to provide all utility and infrastructure connections to the periphery of the site. Under the new Agreement of 2016, the Government has the right to request the Project Company to enter into a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) for the provision of such infrastructure. At the moment, several such PPP projects in roads and utility provision are being examined and are under discussion.

      The marketable land lots will be divided between the Project Company and GOSL according to the following process: The Project Company will have the first right of selection of a block of land, followed by the Government selecting another. As the selection process is iterative, the land allocated to the Project Company will not be a contiguous area.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What is the likely timing for the Project?

    • We should be able to hand over first piece of land for building construction by mid 2018. The reclamation and required internal infrastructure will be completed by 2020

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the main challenges to achieving these deadlines?

    • The construction of breakwater can only be carried out during non-monsoon season. Therefore, the reclamation activities will be dictated by how fast we can build the breakwater.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Who will be responsible for managing common land and will investors need to contribute to these costs?

    • An Estate Management Company (EMC) will be set up as a JV between Project Company and GOSL.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Who are the main technical consultants retained by the Project Company for the various aspects of work?

    • A world class team of consultants has been assembled. International consultants include:
      • Planning and Infrastructure: (Sweco, ATKINS, Faithful+ Gould, Surbana Jurong, AECOM, CDR)
      • Real Estate (JLL, CBRE)
      • Legal ( Pinsent Masons)
      • Advertising and Promotion: (Ogilvy and Mather International , Word search)
      • Environmental protection: (icem)

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Has the Project Company used local experts?

    • Yes, many local engineers and technical and other experts are employed full-time by the Company. In addition, the services of the following local organizations have been used:
      • Planning and Infrastructure: (CECB, SWA)
      • Real Estate: ( TWCorp, RIU)
      • Legal : ( VARNERS , Colombo Law Alliance)
      • Advertising and Promotion : ( Phoenix Ogilvy)
      • Environmental Protection: ( LHI, University of Moratuwa, University of Peradeniya, NARA)

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    When would the Government and the Project Company likely to market their land holdings/interest to investors and will this be a coordinated effort?

    • The first phase of the master planned area (closest to Chaitya road) will be ready for building construction by middle of 2018. Therefore, marketing lands to investors will happen prior to that. The marketing of lands allocated to the GOSL and Project Company will be a coordinated effort to ensure fair valuation so as not to flood the market with excess land. The terms and conditions relating to this have been agreed in the Tripartite Agreement between the GOSL, UDA and the Project Company.

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    Are there any guidelines on building design and specification?

    • We have commissioned Surbana Jurong to prepare detailed Design Control Regulations (DCR). All development within Port City will need to adhere to the conditions stipulated in the DCR including certain parameters related to building design and specifications. Also the Port City Master Plan, once approved by the UDA, can only be changed by mutual consultation and agreement between the Project Company and the GOSL.

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    Can foreigners own residential units in Sri Lanka? Can these be locally funded?

    • Yes, foreigners can own residential condominium properties. The local law relating to foreigners owning residential properties or land applicable anywhere in Sri Lanka are applicable within Port City as well. At the moment, local banks could lend up to 40% of the value of the property to a foreigner. The remainder should be funded by foreign currency inward remittance.

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    What precautions have been taken to protect the reclaimed land and buildings thereon from natural disasters?

    • The Project Company’s international consultants have carried out the following engineering studies (among many more) during the planning, design and construction of Port City.

      Wave Climate Modelling: To study the wave climate of the proposed Ports City Development area and obtain design wave heights for off shore breakwater and revetments.

      Stability of Breakwaters: To study stability of breakwater under extreme wave attack. The test results indicate that the Port City breakwater will remain stable even during a 200 year wave event. The same design criterion was also used to design the breakwater of the Colombo South Port.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Was the Project suspended due to lack of adequate environmental safeguards?

    • In March 2015, the Project Company was informed that the GOSL wished to suspend the project construction and review the licenses obtained prior to commencing construction. The onus of obtaining and providing the relevant environmental approvals lies with the GOSL as per the signed Concession Agreement. Thereafter, in order to address the shortcomings of the EIA of 2012 carried out by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority, a comprehensive Supplementary Environmental Impact Assessment (SEIA) was carried out in 2015 by the Ministry of Megapolis, involving over 25 experts from many fields and reputed institutions.

      This study was made available to the general public for their comments for a period of 30 working days as required under the Law. Around 220 written submissions were sent by various associations, NGO’s environmentalists, fishermen and the general public. Responses to the public comments were evaluated by a Technical Evaluation Committee of over 30 persons and the Advisory Council of the Department of Coast Conservation & Coastal Resources Management. This resulted in the reclamation works commencing under a new Development Permit issued by the Department of Coast Conservation, the Project Approving Agency for the Supplementary EIA.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Do you have the required licenses to carry out reclamation work and rock extraction in Sri Lanka?

    • Yes, the Ministry of Megapolis & Western Development has obtained these licenses on behalf of the Project Company

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What were the key restrictions imposed under the new Development Permit

    • The project company would not dredge for sand in the site that is closer to the shore, but would instead dredge in another site, which is 5 kilometers from the coast line, thereby causing minimal if any disruption to normal coastal fishing activities. Project Company can only dredge for sand at depths of 15 meters or more. At this distance and depth, there are hardly any fish breeding grounds and also no possibility whatsoever of any coastal erosion.

      The maximum depth allowed for scraping sand is 2-3 meters from the seabed with a minimum 0.5 meters of sand preserved. This way, there will not be any concentrated dredging in one area causing disruption to fishing activity or permanent damage to the ocean floor and marine life.

      The Project Company has also been prohibited from dredging in any area that has been identified (with GPS coordinates stipulated by NARA) as being close to reef habitats, spawning areas, breeding areas and fishing grounds. In order to ensure safety, Dredging will follow a dredging plan and a schedule to enable fishing in all areas except a particular dredging cell for a short period of a few days. Fishermen will be educated on the route to be taken by dredgers in advance and warning lights and floating markers will be utilized to demarcate the route. This would be done to ensure that fishermen would be able to identify the area and undertake normal fishing. Dredging distances can be monitored by anyone live via the Internet.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Can it be proved that dredging by Port City does not cause coastal erosion?

    • This fact that coastal erosion cannot happen when dredging beyond the dynamic coastal zone (beyond 2 km from the shoreline) and at depths of more than 8 meters is a scientifically proven fact established by scientists throughout the world. Therefore, anyone claiming that dredging of sand carried out by Port City well in excess of these minimum limits – i.e. more than double the distance from the dynamic coastal zone and double the minimum depth of 8m – is an unsubstantiated statement.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What is the impact on fishing caused due to dredging?

    • The SEIA prohibited the dredging to be carried out in Site 1 (2km from shoreline and NARA recommended Site 2 (5km away from shoreline). Comparatively Site 2 had no well-developed reef system nor any form of sea grass beds. According to NARA, the sea bed comprised mainly of extended sandy habitats and commercially important demersal fish in the Site 2 area was scarce. According to NARA’s research it was found that Site 2 is mostly populated with pelagic fish. Sardinella, Anchovy, Mackerel, Barracuda are some of the species of pelagic fish, which means that these fish feed and breed in the water column and not close to the bottom nor near the shore. Therefore, dredging at the ocean bed has no significant effect on the fish in this area.

      Many of the fishermen stated that there are species of turtles present in this area. However, there has been no record of turtles laying eggs in this area since the 1900’s, but they may be visiting as a part of their migratory route and for food. Though the presence of turtles are rare, the main threat to them is not the dredgers but the fishing nets used by the fishermen themselves. This is because dredging is carried out using a “vacuum cleaning” method where the sand is scraped from the ocean floor with the dredger arm, usually 40 cm at a time. Therefore, a cavity or a hole is never formed as alleged by certain fishermen.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How many cubic meters of rock stones will be required for the whole project?

    • Approximately 3.85 million cubic meters.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    From where will those rocks be obtained?

    • From quarries approximately 48 km radius from the project site.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Will there be sufficient supply of rocks in Sri Lanka to cater to this demand?

    • Yes, rocks are mined from licensed quarries in Colombo and Gampaha District and only around 7% of the licensed quarries from this area are used for this purpose.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What is the process followed to mine these rocks?

    • As per the Central Environmental Authority (CEA), there are processes in place on mining rocks from licensed quarries. We are sourcing rocks from the selected suppliers who hold the license to operate quarries and follow the mining regulations set by Sri Lankan laws.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How much sand will be required for the whole project?

    • Approximately 65 million cubic meters

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Can you elaborate on the Breakwaters, How high will it be? What are the benefits? Sustainability?

    • The Breakwater is being built + 4m from mean sea level. The Breakwater is designed to protect the Port City from rising sea levels and high waves.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Has there been any study done to measure impacts due to sewerage disposal, water demand and supply, discharge of solid waste, traffic impact assessment due to Port City Project?

    • The detailed environmental impacts and mitigation measures connected to the above areas will be carried out in the Phase 2 EIA study that will have to be completed before any buildings are constructed on Port City. However, Chapter 2 pages 80-88 of the SEIA report provides a description of aspects relating to utilities and infrastructure. It needs to be pointed out that utility capacity will be created on the basis of actual demand for such services and therefore utility agencies will obtain a return for the services provided. In the case of road infrastructure, it is envisaged that the higher disposable income of those living and working within Port City will justify the investment in required road and public transport infrastructure to access the Central Business District of Colombo.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Has there any archeological impact assessment done on the project site seabed which is going to be reclaimed?

    • A separate archaeological impact assessment of the project site has been carried out by the Department of Archaeology. The findings of the study are presented in the report “Archaeological Impact Assessment for the Propose New Colombo Port City Development Project, Department of Archaeology of Sri Lanka, 2012”, provided as an Annex to the SEIA. Ship wrecks are not observed within the dredging site.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What will happen to the Galle Face green once the Port City is completed?

    • The SEIA states the Galle Face Green is roughly an area of 5.7 ha. Port City will create around 45 ha of park lands and a 13 ha artificial beach area, all for use by the general public. It is expected that the public spaces of Port City will have better facilities and layouts for small scale entrepreneurs and vendors than the present Galle Face.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Is there a fishermen compensation scheme described in SEIA?

    • No. There is no compensation to individuals, instead there is a livelihood improvement plan for the fishers in the Negombo fisheries district.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How much money is allocated to this scheme? Who shall provide the funds? How long will it be operated?

    • Rs.500 million. CHEC Port City Colombo (Private) Limited, the project company shall provide the funds. The proposed scheme shall be on operational for 3 years.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How will the money allocated for compensation be distributed among affected people? Who will be the responsible agency for that?

    • There will be no cash handouts. 18 programs have been identified with the assistance of the fishery associations to implement within next 3 years. Fishermen’s Livelihood Support Society Limited has been established to implement the programs. They will work under the supervision of Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development and the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Explain the ownership structure of CHEC Port City Colombo (Pvt) Ltd, the investment company of Port City.

    • CHEC Port City Colombo (Private) Limited (the Project Company) is a BOI approved Company specifically set up for the purpose of making a foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Colombo Port City Project. It is a 100% owned subsidiary of China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd (CHEC). China Communications & Construction Company (CCCC) which is the Parent Company of CHEC is listed on the Stock Exchanges of Shanghai and Hong Kong.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Does CCCC have the required financial and technical capability to undertake this investment?

    • Yes, CCCC has a ranking of 110 out of Global Fortune 500 companies with over 1 mn employees and US$ 105 billion in assets (larger than Sri Lanka’s GDP). It is ranked as the 4th largest contractor in the world according to ENR Magazine. CCCC is also China’s largest port design and Construction Company, the No 1 dredging company in the world and the No 1 manufacturer of container cranes, with 75% of world market share.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Has CCCC and CHEC done projects similar to this in the past?

    • Yes, such projects include:
    • The Hong Kong New Airport Platform Project: Listed among the top 10 construction projects of the 20th Century, CHEC undertook the excavation of 90 million cu. m to reclaim 1300 hectares, and built other infrastructure requirements for the airport.
    • The man-made island at Macau International Airport: This project saw the excavation and backfilling of 64 million m3 and Land formation area of 1.152 million square meters.
    • Hong Kong Zhuhai Macau Bridge: This 50 km long bridge and tunnel costing around $10 billion will link the west side of Hong Kong to Macau and the city of Zhuhai in the Guangdong province.
    • Hangzhou Bay Cross-sea Bridge, South China: Totaling 36km in length and 33m in width, the bridge is the longest sea crossing bridge in the world.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Is CCCC a black listed company by the World Bank?

    • The World Bank announced on 14th January 2009 debarring seven companies and one individual for alleged engagement of collusive pricing practices in a road project in the Philippines where bids were called in 2002. Among the companies debarred was China Road and Bridge Engineering Co Ltd (CRBC).

      CRBC became a wholly owned subsidiary of CCCC in 2005. CCCC did NOT own CRBC at the time of the dispute with the World Bank in 2002 and therefore cannot be directly or indirectly implicated in this matter, regardless of the merits of the allegation of price collusion.

      To date, CRBC has not received any claim or allegation raised by the Philippines Government as the owner of the road project.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the overall objectives of the Colombo Port City Project?

    • Colombo cannot become a destination that appeals to the international businesses or tourists with ad-hoc developments. Colombo Port City (CPC) provides an opportunity for the old and historic part of Colombo’s Central Business District (CBD) to interface as a modern planned metropolis. Accordingly, the key objectives of reclaiming 269 hectares of land are:
      • To create a regional business hub, with high quality public spaces and infrastructure facilities
      • To create a tourism hub with attractions such as shopping, culture and entertainment
      • Foster integrated living to provide high quality residential facilities and amenities such as parks, water sports, schools, hospitals etc.
      • To generate investments in real estate development and service sector jobs

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Why build a Port City at this location?

    • The reclamation of land at the proposed location is technically feasible because it is anchored against the 2.5 km long Colombo South Port breakwater. Taking advantage of the breakwater construction to create prime land makes sense because the breakwater acts as a natural location for sand accumulation (due to the sediment transport being from North to South).

      The Project will also expand the Central Business District (CBD) of Colombo 1 to accommodate the Colombo International Financial City (CIFC). Financial centres and related services in city’s such as Singapore, Dubai and Hong Kong usually expand in CBDs. Expanding Colombo’s CBD at any other location would not be possible due to lack of space; in addition, ocean-front CBD real estate has proven to generate greater demand by businesses and residents.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    How large is the Foreign Direct investment in Colombo Port City?

    • CPCC will be investing over US$ 1.4 billion (over Rs.210 billion), thereby making this the largest ever FDI project to be implemented in Sri Lanka so far. This excludes the additional investments to be made on real estate projects once the land is reclaimed.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What is the ownership arrangement of Port City between the Project Company and the Government?

    • All lands reclaimed by the Project Company shall be owned by the Urban Development Authority or any other agency nominated by the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL). Of the total of 269Ha reclaimed, the total saleable/marketable land of approximately 178 Ha is to be divided between the Project Company and GOSL. The Project Company would be allocated 116 Ha and GOSL 62Ha. The remaining 91 Ha is common area, also owned by the GOSL, which includes roads, parks, etc. (This does not include beaches of 13 ha and waterways of 80 ha), also owned by the GOSL.

      So, the Project Company will be able to enjoy commercial benefits from only 43% of the land reclaimed in order to recover its investment. The GOSL will lease the 116 ha of marketable land to the Project Company for 99 years, who will have the right to grant fresh 99 year leases to third party developers

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the permissible developments within the reclaimed land at Port City?

    • Port City will contain the following developments and businesses, undertaken by private local and foreign investors
      • The CIFC Building Complex: Comprising retail, residential and office
      • Other Commercial: Banks, offices and retail, hotels and restaurants
      • Residential: Houses, apartment buildings, serviced apartments
      • Institutions: Healthcare, educational and R& D institutions
      • Small businesses: Retail shops, open air trading areas, beauty salons, bakeries, laundries, printing, small scale art and handcraft and other services such as cafes, kiosks, newspaper stands, food trucks and book shops
      • Entertainment: Amusement park, theatre & music
      • Community: Art galleries, community centres
      • Water Sports: Marina and related facilities
    • In addition, the Project Company will build public parks of 45 hectares of public parks and an artificial beach of around 3 km. No Industrial activities will be allowed within Port City.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Can the general public enjoy the benefits of Port City?

    • Of course. Apart from the many thousands of jobs that will be generated, the general public can enjoy a 3 km long artificial beach, water sports and 45 ha of parks, which will be around 9 times larger than Galle Face Green and all other public spaces incorporated into the master plan

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the important commercial terms of the project?

    • The Port City Project is a Public-Private-Partnership.

      The Project Company will take the entire commercial risk of its investment and also invest in all internal infrastructure of the reclaimed area including roads, water supply etc. The GOSL is obliged to provide all utility and infrastructure connections to the periphery of the site. Under the new Agreement of 2016, the Government has the right to request the Project Company to enter into a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) for the provision of such infrastructure. At the moment, several such PPP projects in roads and utility provision are being examined and are under discussion.

      The marketable land lots will be divided between the Project Company and GOSL according to the following process: The Project Company will have the first right of selection of a block of land, followed by the Government selecting another. As the selection process is iterative, the land allocated to the Project Company will not be a contiguous area.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What is the likely timing for the Project?

    • We should be able to hand over first piece of land for building construction by mid 2018. The reclamation and required internal infrastructure will be completed by 2020

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the main challenges to achieving these deadlines?

    • The construction of breakwater can only be carried out during non-monsoon season. Therefore, the reclamation activities will be dictated by how fast we can build the breakwater.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Who will be responsible for managing common land and will investors need to contribute to these costs?

    • An Estate Management Company (EMC) will be set up as a JV between Project Company and GOSL.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Who are the main technical consultants retained by the Project Company for the various aspects of work?

    • A world class team of consultants has been assembled. International consultants include:
      • Planning and Infrastructure: (Sweco, ATKINS, Faithful+ Gould, Surbana Jurong, AECOM, CDR)
      • Real Estate (JLL, CBRE)
      • Legal ( Pinsent Masons)
      • Advertising and Promotion: (Ogilvy and Mather International , Word search)
      • Environmental protection: (icem)

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Has the Project Company used local experts?

    • Yes, many local engineers and technical and other experts are employed full-time by the Company. In addition, the services of the following local organizations have been used:
      • Planning and Infrastructure: (CECB, SWA)
      • Real Estate: ( TWCorp, RIU)
      • Legal : ( VARNERS , Colombo Law Alliance)
      • Advertising and Promotion : ( Phoenix Ogilvy)
      • Environmental Protection: ( LHI, University of Moratuwa, University of Peradeniya, NARA)

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    When would the Government and the Project Company likely to market their land holdings/interest to investors and will this be a coordinated effort?

    • The first phase of the master planned area (closest to Chaitya road) will be ready for building construction by middle of 2018. Therefore, marketing lands to investors will happen prior to that. The marketing of lands allocated to the GOSL and Project Company will be a coordinated effort to ensure fair valuation so as not to flood the market with excess land. The terms and conditions relating to this have been agreed in the Tripartite Agreement between the GOSL, UDA and the Project Company.

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    Are there any guidelines on building design and specification?

    • We have commissioned Surbana Jurong to prepare detailed Design Control Regulations (DCR). All development within Port City will need to adhere to the conditions stipulated in the DCR including certain parameters related to building design and specifications. Also the Port City Master Plan, once approved by the UDA, can only be changed by mutual consultation and agreement between the Project Company and the GOSL.

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    Can foreigners own residential units in Sri Lanka? Can these be locally funded?

    • Yes, foreigners can own residential condominium properties. The local law relating to foreigners owning residential properties or land applicable anywhere in Sri Lanka are applicable within Port City as well. At the moment, local banks could lend up to 40% of the value of the property to a foreigner. The remainder should be funded by foreign currency inward remittance.

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    What precautions have been taken to protect the reclaimed land and buildings thereon from natural disasters?

    • The Project Company’s international consultants have carried out the following engineering studies (among many more) during the planning, design and construction of Port City.

      Wave Climate Modelling: To study the wave climate of the proposed Ports City Development area and obtain design wave heights for off shore breakwater and revetments.

      Stability of Breakwaters: To study stability of breakwater under extreme wave attack. The test results indicate that the Port City breakwater will remain stable even during a 200 year wave event. The same design criterion was also used to design the breakwater of the Colombo South Port.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Was the Project suspended due to lack of adequate environmental safeguards?

    • In March 2015, the Project Company was informed that the GOSL wished to suspend the project construction and review the licenses obtained prior to commencing construction. The onus of obtaining and providing the relevant environmental approvals lies with the GOSL as per the signed Concession Agreement. Thereafter, in order to address the shortcomings of the EIA of 2012 carried out by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority, a comprehensive Supplementary Environmental Impact Assessment (SEIA) was carried out in 2015 by the Ministry of Megapolis, involving over 25 experts from many fields and reputed institutions.

      This study was made available to the general public for their comments for a period of 30 working days as required under the Law. Around 220 written submissions were sent by various associations, NGO’s environmentalists, fishermen and the general public. Responses to the public comments were evaluated by a Technical Evaluation Committee of over 30 persons and the Advisory Council of the Department of Coast Conservation & Coastal Resources Management. This resulted in the reclamation works commencing under a new Development Permit issued by the Department of Coast Conservation, the Project Approving Agency for the Supplementary EIA.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Do you have the required licenses to carry out reclamation work and rock extraction in Sri Lanka?

    • Yes, the Ministry of Megapolis & Western Development has obtained these licenses on behalf of the Project Company

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What were the key restrictions imposed under the new Development Permit

    • The project company would not dredge for sand in the site that is closer to the shore, but would instead dredge in another site, which is 5 kilometers from the coast line, thereby causing minimal if any disruption to normal coastal fishing activities. Project Company can only dredge for sand at depths of 15 meters or more. At this distance and depth, there are hardly any fish breeding grounds and also no possibility whatsoever of any coastal erosion.

      The maximum depth allowed for scraping sand is 2-3 meters from the seabed with a minimum 0.5 meters of sand preserved. This way, there will not be any concentrated dredging in one area causing disruption to fishing activity or permanent damage to the ocean floor and marine life.

      The Project Company has also been prohibited from dredging in any area that has been identified (with GPS coordinates stipulated by NARA) as being close to reef habitats, spawning areas, breeding areas and fishing grounds. In order to ensure safety, Dredging will follow a dredging plan and a schedule to enable fishing in all areas except a particular dredging cell for a short period of a few days. Fishermen will be educated on the route to be taken by dredgers in advance and warning lights and floating markers will be utilized to demarcate the route. This would be done to ensure that fishermen would be able to identify the area and undertake normal fishing. Dredging distances can be monitored by anyone live via the Internet.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Can it be proved that dredging by Port City does not cause coastal erosion?

    • This fact that coastal erosion cannot happen when dredging beyond the dynamic coastal zone (beyond 2 km from the shoreline) and at depths of more than 8 meters is a scientifically proven fact established by scientists throughout the world. Therefore, anyone claiming that dredging of sand carried out by Port City well in excess of these minimum limits – i.e. more than double the distance from the dynamic coastal zone and double the minimum depth of 8m – is an unsubstantiated statement.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What is the impact on fishing caused due to dredging?

    • The SEIA prohibited the dredging to be carried out in Site 1 (2km from shoreline and NARA recommended Site 2 (5km away from shoreline). Comparatively Site 2 had no well-developed reef system nor any form of sea grass beds. According to NARA, the sea bed comprised mainly of extended sandy habitats and commercially important demersal fish in the Site 2 area was scarce. According to NARA’s research it was found that Site 2 is mostly populated with pelagic fish. Sardinella, Anchovy, Mackerel, Barracuda are some of the species of pelagic fish, which means that these fish feed and breed in the water column and not close to the bottom nor near the shore. Therefore, dredging at the ocean bed has no significant effect on the fish in this area.

      Many of the fishermen stated that there are species of turtles present in this area. However, there has been no record of turtles laying eggs in this area since the 1900’s, but they may be visiting as a part of their migratory route and for food. Though the presence of turtles are rare, the main threat to them is not the dredgers but the fishing nets used by the fishermen themselves. This is because dredging is carried out using a “vacuum cleaning” method where the sand is scraped from the ocean floor with the dredger arm, usually 40 cm at a time. Therefore, a cavity or a hole is never formed as alleged by certain fishermen.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How many cubic meters of rock stones will be required for the whole project?

    • Approximately 3.85 million cubic meters.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    From where will those rocks be obtained?

    • From quarries approximately 48 km radius from the project site.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Will there be sufficient supply of rocks in Sri Lanka to cater to this demand?

    • Yes, rocks are mined from licensed quarries in Colombo and Gampaha District and only around 7% of the licensed quarries from this area are used for this purpose.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What is the process followed to mine these rocks?

    • As per the Central Environmental Authority (CEA), there are processes in place on mining rocks from licensed quarries. We are sourcing rocks from the selected suppliers who hold the license to operate quarries and follow the mining regulations set by Sri Lankan laws.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How much sand will be required for the whole project?

    • Approximately 65 million cubic meters

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Can you elaborate on the Breakwaters, How high will it be? What are the benefits? Sustainability?

    • The Breakwater is being built + 4m from mean sea level. The Breakwater is designed to protect the Port City from rising sea levels and high waves.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Has there been any study done to measure impacts due to sewerage disposal, water demand and supply, discharge of solid waste, traffic impact assessment due to Port City Project?

    • The detailed environmental impacts and mitigation measures connected to the above areas will be carried out in the Phase 2 EIA study that will have to be completed before any buildings are constructed on Port City. However, Chapter 2 pages 80-88 of the SEIA report provides a description of aspects relating to utilities and infrastructure. It needs to be pointed out that utility capacity will be created on the basis of actual demand for such services and therefore utility agencies will obtain a return for the services provided. In the case of road infrastructure, it is envisaged that the higher disposable income of those living and working within Port City will justify the investment in required road and public transport infrastructure to access the Central Business District of Colombo.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Has there any archeological impact assessment done on the project site seabed which is going to be reclaimed?

    • A separate archaeological impact assessment of the project site has been carried out by the Department of Archaeology. The findings of the study are presented in the report “Archaeological Impact Assessment for the Propose New Colombo Port City Development Project, Department of Archaeology of Sri Lanka, 2012”, provided as an Annex to the SEIA. Ship wrecks are not observed within the dredging site.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What will happen to the Galle Face green once the Port City is completed?

    • The SEIA states the Galle Face Green is roughly an area of 5.7 ha. Port City will create around 45 ha of park lands and a 13 ha artificial beach area, all for use by the general public. It is expected that the public spaces of Port City will have better facilities and layouts for small scale entrepreneurs and vendors than the present Galle Face.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Is there a fishermen compensation scheme described in SEIA?

    • No. There is no compensation to individuals, instead there is a livelihood improvement plan for the fishers in the Negombo fisheries district.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How much money is allocated to this scheme? Who shall provide the funds? How long will it be operated?

    • Rs.500 million. CHEC Port City Colombo (Private) Limited, the project company shall provide the funds. The proposed scheme shall be on operational for 3 years.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How will the money allocated for compensation be distributed among affected people? Who will be the responsible agency for that?

    • There will be no cash handouts. 18 programs have been identified with the assistance of the fishery associations to implement within next 3 years. Fishermen’s Livelihood Support Society Limited has been established to implement the programs. They will work under the supervision of Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development and the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Explain the ownership structure of CHEC Port City Colombo (Pvt) Ltd, the investment company of Port City.

    • CHEC Port City Colombo (Private) Limited (the Project Company) is a BOI approved Company specifically set up for the purpose of making a foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Colombo Port City Project. It is a 100% owned subsidiary of China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd (CHEC). China Communications & Construction Company (CCCC) which is the Parent Company of CHEC is listed on the Stock Exchanges of Shanghai and Hong Kong.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Does CCCC have the required financial and technical capability to undertake this investment?

    • Yes, CCCC has a ranking of 110 out of Global Fortune 500 companies with over 1 mn employees and US$ 105 billion in assets (larger than Sri Lanka’s GDP). It is ranked as the 4th largest contractor in the world according to ENR Magazine. CCCC is also China’s largest port design and Construction Company, the No 1 dredging company in the world and the No 1 manufacturer of container cranes, with 75% of world market share.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Has CCCC and CHEC done projects similar to this in the past?

    • Yes, such projects include:
    • The Hong Kong New Airport Platform Project: Listed among the top 10 construction projects of the 20th Century, CHEC undertook the excavation of 90 million cu. m to reclaim 1300 hectares, and built other infrastructure requirements for the airport.
    • The man-made island at Macau International Airport: This project saw the excavation and backfilling of 64 million m3 and Land formation area of 1.152 million square meters.
    • Hong Kong Zhuhai Macau Bridge: This 50 km long bridge and tunnel costing around $10 billion will link the west side of Hong Kong to Macau and the city of Zhuhai in the Guangdong province.
    • Hangzhou Bay Cross-sea Bridge, South China: Totaling 36km in length and 33m in width, the bridge is the longest sea crossing bridge in the world.

  • COMPANY BACKGROUND

    Is CCCC a black listed company by the World Bank?

    • The World Bank announced on 14th January 2009 debarring seven companies and one individual for alleged engagement of collusive pricing practices in a road project in the Philippines where bids were called in 2002. Among the companies debarred was China Road and Bridge Engineering Co Ltd (CRBC).

      CRBC became a wholly owned subsidiary of CCCC in 2005. CCCC did NOT own CRBC at the time of the dispute with the World Bank in 2002 and therefore cannot be directly or indirectly implicated in this matter, regardless of the merits of the allegation of price collusion.

      To date, CRBC has not received any claim or allegation raised by the Philippines Government as the owner of the road project.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the overall objectives of the Colombo Port City Project?

    • Colombo cannot become a destination that appeals to the international businesses or tourists with ad-hoc developments. Colombo Port City (CPC) provides an opportunity for the old and historic part of Colombo’s Central Business District (CBD) to interface as a modern planned metropolis. Accordingly, the key objectives of reclaiming 269 hectares of land are:
      • To create a regional business hub, with high quality public spaces and infrastructure facilities
      • To create a tourism hub with attractions such as shopping, culture and entertainment
      • Foster integrated living to provide high quality residential facilities and amenities such as parks, water sports, schools, hospitals etc.
      • To generate investments in real estate development and service sector jobs

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Why build a Port City at this location?

    • The reclamation of land at the proposed location is technically feasible because it is anchored against the 2.5 km long Colombo South Port breakwater. Taking advantage of the breakwater construction to create prime land makes sense because the breakwater acts as a natural location for sand accumulation (due to the sediment transport being from North to South).

      The Project will also expand the Central Business District (CBD) of Colombo 1 to accommodate the Colombo International Financial City (CIFC). Financial centres and related services in city’s such as Singapore, Dubai and Hong Kong usually expand in CBDs. Expanding Colombo’s CBD at any other location would not be possible due to lack of space; in addition, ocean-front CBD real estate has proven to generate greater demand by businesses and residents.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    How large is the Foreign Direct investment in Colombo Port City?

    • CPCC will be investing over US$ 1.4 billion (over Rs.210 billion), thereby making this the largest ever FDI project to be implemented in Sri Lanka so far. This excludes the additional investments to be made on real estate projects once the land is reclaimed.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What is the ownership arrangement of Port City between the Project Company and the Government?

    • All lands reclaimed by the Project Company shall be owned by the Urban Development Authority or any other agency nominated by the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL). Of the total of 269Ha reclaimed, the total saleable/marketable land of approximately 178 Ha is to be divided between the Project Company and GOSL. The Project Company would be allocated 116 Ha and GOSL 62Ha. The remaining 91 Ha is common area, also owned by the GOSL, which includes roads, parks, etc. (This does not include beaches of 13 ha and waterways of 80 ha), also owned by the GOSL.

      So, the Project Company will be able to enjoy commercial benefits from only 43% of the land reclaimed in order to recover its investment. The GOSL will lease the 116 ha of marketable land to the Project Company for 99 years, who will have the right to grant fresh 99 year leases to third party developers

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the permissible developments within the reclaimed land at Port City?

    • Port City will contain the following developments and businesses, undertaken by private local and foreign investors
      • The CIFC Building Complex: Comprising retail, residential and office
      • Other Commercial: Banks, offices and retail, hotels and restaurants
      • Residential: Houses, apartment buildings, serviced apartments
      • Institutions: Healthcare, educational and R& D institutions
      • Small businesses: Retail shops, open air trading areas, beauty salons, bakeries, laundries, printing, small scale art and handcraft and other services such as cafes, kiosks, newspaper stands, food trucks and book shops
      • Entertainment: Amusement park, theatre & music
      • Community: Art galleries, community centres
      • Water Sports: Marina and related facilities
    • In addition, the Project Company will build public parks of 45 hectares of public parks and an artificial beach of around 3 km. No Industrial activities will be allowed within Port City.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Can the general public enjoy the benefits of Port City?

    • Of course. Apart from the many thousands of jobs that will be generated, the general public can enjoy a 3 km long artificial beach, water sports and 45 ha of parks, which will be around 9 times larger than Galle Face Green and all other public spaces incorporated into the master plan

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the important commercial terms of the project?

    • The Port City Project is a Public-Private-Partnership.

      The Project Company will take the entire commercial risk of its investment and also invest in all internal infrastructure of the reclaimed area including roads, water supply etc. The GOSL is obliged to provide all utility and infrastructure connections to the periphery of the site. Under the new Agreement of 2016, the Government has the right to request the Project Company to enter into a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) for the provision of such infrastructure. At the moment, several such PPP projects in roads and utility provision are being examined and are under discussion.

      The marketable land lots will be divided between the Project Company and GOSL according to the following process: The Project Company will have the first right of selection of a block of land, followed by the Government selecting another. As the selection process is iterative, the land allocated to the Project Company will not be a contiguous area.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What is the likely timing for the Project?

    • We should be able to hand over first piece of land for building construction by mid 2018. The reclamation and required internal infrastructure will be completed by 2020

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    What are the main challenges to achieving these deadlines?

    • The construction of breakwater can only be carried out during non-monsoon season. Therefore, the reclamation activities will be dictated by how fast we can build the breakwater.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Who will be responsible for managing common land and will investors need to contribute to these costs?

    • An Estate Management Company (EMC) will be set up as a JV between Project Company and GOSL.

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Who are the main technical consultants retained by the Project Company for the various aspects of work?

    • A world class team of consultants has been assembled. International consultants include:
      • Planning and Infrastructure: (Sweco, ATKINS, Faithful+ Gould, Surbana Jurong, AECOM, CDR)
      • Real Estate (JLL, CBRE)
      • Legal ( Pinsent Masons)
      • Advertising and Promotion: (Ogilvy and Mather International , Word search)
      • Environmental protection: (icem)

  • PROJECT BACKGROUND

    Has the Project Company used local experts?

    • Yes, many local engineers and technical and other experts are employed full-time by the Company. In addition, the services of the following local organizations have been used:
      • Planning and Infrastructure: (CECB, SWA)
      • Real Estate: ( TWCorp, RIU)
      • Legal : ( VARNERS , Colombo Law Alliance)
      • Advertising and Promotion : ( Phoenix Ogilvy)
      • Environmental Protection: ( LHI, University of Moratuwa, University of Peradeniya, NARA)

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    When would the Government and the Project Company likely to market their land holdings/interest to investors and will this be a coordinated effort?

    • The first phase of the master planned area (closest to Chaitya road) will be ready for building construction by middle of 2018. Therefore, marketing lands to investors will happen prior to that. The marketing of lands allocated to the GOSL and Project Company will be a coordinated effort to ensure fair valuation so as not to flood the market with excess land. The terms and conditions relating to this have been agreed in the Tripartite Agreement between the GOSL, UDA and the Project Company.

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    Are there any guidelines on building design and specification?

    • We have commissioned Surbana Jurong to prepare detailed Design Control Regulations (DCR). All development within Port City will need to adhere to the conditions stipulated in the DCR including certain parameters related to building design and specifications. Also the Port City Master Plan, once approved by the UDA, can only be changed by mutual consultation and agreement between the Project Company and the GOSL.

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    Can foreigners own residential units in Sri Lanka? Can these be locally funded?

    • Yes, foreigners can own residential condominium properties. The local law relating to foreigners owning residential properties or land applicable anywhere in Sri Lanka are applicable within Port City as well. At the moment, local banks could lend up to 40% of the value of the property to a foreigner. The remainder should be funded by foreign currency inward remittance.

  • INVESTOR RELATIONS

    What precautions have been taken to protect the reclaimed land and buildings thereon from natural disasters?

    • The Project Company’s international consultants have carried out the following engineering studies (among many more) during the planning, design and construction of Port City.

      Wave Climate Modelling: To study the wave climate of the proposed Ports City Development area and obtain design wave heights for off shore breakwater and revetments.

      Stability of Breakwaters: To study stability of breakwater under extreme wave attack. The test results indicate that the Port City breakwater will remain stable even during a 200 year wave event. The same design criterion was also used to design the breakwater of the Colombo South Port.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Was the Project suspended due to lack of adequate environmental safeguards?

    • In March 2015, the Project Company was informed that the GOSL wished to suspend the project construction and review the licenses obtained prior to commencing construction. The onus of obtaining and providing the relevant environmental approvals lies with the GOSL as per the signed Concession Agreement. Thereafter, in order to address the shortcomings of the EIA of 2012 carried out by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority, a comprehensive Supplementary Environmental Impact Assessment (SEIA) was carried out in 2015 by the Ministry of Megapolis, involving over 25 experts from many fields and reputed institutions.

      This study was made available to the general public for their comments for a period of 30 working days as required under the Law. Around 220 written submissions were sent by various associations, NGO’s environmentalists, fishermen and the general public. Responses to the public comments were evaluated by a Technical Evaluation Committee of over 30 persons and the Advisory Council of the Department of Coast Conservation & Coastal Resources Management. This resulted in the reclamation works commencing under a new Development Permit issued by the Department of Coast Conservation, the Project Approving Agency for the Supplementary EIA.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Do you have the required licenses to carry out reclamation work and rock extraction in Sri Lanka?

    • Yes, the Ministry of Megapolis & Western Development has obtained these licenses on behalf of the Project Company

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What were the key restrictions imposed under the new Development Permit

    • The project company would not dredge for sand in the site that is closer to the shore, but would instead dredge in another site, which is 5 kilometers from the coast line, thereby causing minimal if any disruption to normal coastal fishing activities. Project Company can only dredge for sand at depths of 15 meters or more. At this distance and depth, there are hardly any fish breeding grounds and also no possibility whatsoever of any coastal erosion.

      The maximum depth allowed for scraping sand is 2-3 meters from the seabed with a minimum 0.5 meters of sand preserved. This way, there will not be any concentrated dredging in one area causing disruption to fishing activity or permanent damage to the ocean floor and marine life.

      The Project Company has also been prohibited from dredging in any area that has been identified (with GPS coordinates stipulated by NARA) as being close to reef habitats, spawning areas, breeding areas and fishing grounds. In order to ensure safety, Dredging will follow a dredging plan and a schedule to enable fishing in all areas except a particular dredging cell for a short period of a few days. Fishermen will be educated on the route to be taken by dredgers in advance and warning lights and floating markers will be utilized to demarcate the route. This would be done to ensure that fishermen would be able to identify the area and undertake normal fishing. Dredging distances can be monitored by anyone live via the Internet.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Can it be proved that dredging by Port City does not cause coastal erosion?

    • This fact that coastal erosion cannot happen when dredging beyond the dynamic coastal zone (beyond 2 km from the shoreline) and at depths of more than 8 meters is a scientifically proven fact established by scientists throughout the world. Therefore, anyone claiming that dredging of sand carried out by Port City well in excess of these minimum limits – i.e. more than double the distance from the dynamic coastal zone and double the minimum depth of 8m – is an unsubstantiated statement.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What is the impact on fishing caused due to dredging?

    • The SEIA prohibited the dredging to be carried out in Site 1 (2km from shoreline and NARA recommended Site 2 (5km away from shoreline). Comparatively Site 2 had no well-developed reef system nor any form of sea grass beds. According to NARA, the sea bed comprised mainly of extended sandy habitats and commercially important demersal fish in the Site 2 area was scarce. According to NARA’s research it was found that Site 2 is mostly populated with pelagic fish. Sardinella, Anchovy, Mackerel, Barracuda are some of the species of pelagic fish, which means that these fish feed and breed in the water column and not close to the bottom nor near the shore. Therefore, dredging at the ocean bed has no significant effect on the fish in this area.

      Many of the fishermen stated that there are species of turtles present in this area. However, there has been no record of turtles laying eggs in this area since the 1900’s, but they may be visiting as a part of their migratory route and for food. Though the presence of turtles are rare, the main threat to them is not the dredgers but the fishing nets used by the fishermen themselves. This is because dredging is carried out using a “vacuum cleaning” method where the sand is scraped from the ocean floor with the dredger arm, usually 40 cm at a time. Therefore, a cavity or a hole is never formed as alleged by certain fishermen.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How many cubic meters of rock stones will be required for the whole project?

    • Approximately 3.85 million cubic meters.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    From where will those rocks be obtained?

    • From quarries approximately 48 km radius from the project site.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Will there be sufficient supply of rocks in Sri Lanka to cater to this demand?

    • Yes, rocks are mined from licensed quarries in Colombo and Gampaha District and only around 7% of the licensed quarries from this area are used for this purpose.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What is the process followed to mine these rocks?

    • As per the Central Environmental Authority (CEA), there are processes in place on mining rocks from licensed quarries. We are sourcing rocks from the selected suppliers who hold the license to operate quarries and follow the mining regulations set by Sri Lankan laws.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How much sand will be required for the whole project?

    • Approximately 65 million cubic meters

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Can you elaborate on the Breakwaters, How high will it be? What are the benefits? Sustainability?

    • The Breakwater is being built + 4m from mean sea level. The Breakwater is designed to protect the Port City from rising sea levels and high waves.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Has there been any study done to measure impacts due to sewerage disposal, water demand and supply, discharge of solid waste, traffic impact assessment due to Port City Project?

    • The detailed environmental impacts and mitigation measures connected to the above areas will be carried out in the Phase 2 EIA study that will have to be completed before any buildings are constructed on Port City. However, Chapter 2 pages 80-88 of the SEIA report provides a description of aspects relating to utilities and infrastructure. It needs to be pointed out that utility capacity will be created on the basis of actual demand for such services and therefore utility agencies will obtain a return for the services provided. In the case of road infrastructure, it is envisaged that the higher disposable income of those living and working within Port City will justify the investment in required road and public transport infrastructure to access the Central Business District of Colombo.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Has there any archeological impact assessment done on the project site seabed which is going to be reclaimed?

    • A separate archaeological impact assessment of the project site has been carried out by the Department of Archaeology. The findings of the study are presented in the report “Archaeological Impact Assessment for the Propose New Colombo Port City Development Project, Department of Archaeology of Sri Lanka, 2012”, provided as an Annex to the SEIA. Ship wrecks are not observed within the dredging site.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    What will happen to the Galle Face green once the Port City is completed?

    • The SEIA states the Galle Face Green is roughly an area of 5.7 ha. Port City will create around 45 ha of park lands and a 13 ha artificial beach area, all for use by the general public. It is expected that the public spaces of Port City will have better facilities and layouts for small scale entrepreneurs and vendors than the present Galle Face.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    Is there a fishermen compensation scheme described in SEIA?

    • No. There is no compensation to individuals, instead there is a livelihood improvement plan for the fishers in the Negombo fisheries district.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How much money is allocated to this scheme? Who shall provide the funds? How long will it be operated?

    • Rs.500 million. CHEC Port City Colombo (Private) Limited, the project company shall provide the funds. The proposed scheme shall be on operational for 3 years.

  • ENVIRONMENT

    How will the money allocated for compensation be distributed among affected people? Who will be the responsible agency for that?

    • There will be no cash handouts. 18 programs have been identified with the assistance of the fishery associations to implement within next 3 years. Fishermen’s Livelihood Support Society Limited has been established to implement the programs. They will work under the supervision of Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development and the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.