Acrimony over Sri Lanka’s Colombo Port City will grow

Significance

Parliament passed a bill earlier in May authorising the president to form the commission after key amendments recommended by the Supreme Court were incorporated into the legislation. The Colombo Port City is a development that forms part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

Impacts

• India will be wary of investing in the Colombo Port City.
• Sri Lankan imports from China will increase, helped by a recently agreed bilateral currency swap.
• The Rajapaksa government will remain popular with the country’s ethnic Sinhalese, Buddhist majority despite concerns about its China policy.