The Cabinet of Ministers has approved a proposal instructing the Legal Draftsman to draft the Colombo Ports Commission Bill to place Colombo Port City as a leading investment hub in the region.
The proposed legislation is expected to declare the Colombo Port City as a Specialised Economic Center offering a wide scope of service to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia and as an excellent regional hub aimed at servicing the economy.
“For this purpose, it is necessary to create an active environment that can compete with investment hubs such as Dubai, Singapore, and Hong Kong, by attracting investors, entrepreneurs, innovators, companies, financial institutions through a well-structured and competitive legal, tax and regulatory, and dispute resolution mechanism,” the State Information Department said.
The project company CHEC Port City, a unit of China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) Limited completed reclaiming 269-hectares of land from the sea in 2019.
The project is expected to draw $15 billion investments during the next 20 year period, including a $1.4 billion initial investment made by CCCC.