CMPort pays second tranche of $ 97.3 m in Hambantota Port investment

China Merchant Port Holdings (CMPort) has made the payment of $ 97.365 million to the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) as the second tranche of its investment in the Public-Private Partnership (PPP).

The payment recently in January takes the total paid by CMPort to date to $ 389.462 million. The final payment is to be paid within six months of 9 December 2017.

“CMPort is one of the most successful global companies in the ports sector and their investment in the Port of Hambantota can be described as a credible vote of confidence in its potential as well as in the economy of Sri Lanka,” said SLPA Chairman Parakrama Dissanayake.

The two companies established in Hambantota plans to invest an additional $ 400 million to $ 600 million on phase I and II of the Hambantota Port in 2018-19.

These investments will attract many other foreign investors to the country, making Sri Lanka a pivotal maritime and logistics centre.

One of the largest container terminal operators globally, CMPort’s operations around the world, which include the Colombo International Container Terminal (CICT), handled more than 95 million TEUs in 2016.

In China the group has operations in Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Ningbo, Qingdao, Dalian, Tianjin, Zhanjiang and Xiamen Bay. CMPort also has container terminal operations in the United States, Nigeria, Djibouti, Togo and Turkey as well as many countries in Asia and Europe.