Port City Colombo accuses US envoy of making misleading statement

By Easwaran Rutnam

CHEC Port City Colombo (Pvt) Ltd has accused the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Alaina B. Teplitz, of making a misleading statement while addressing a group of journalists recently.

The US envoy was quoted as saying that the United States does have one of the companies working on the Port City Development on their sanctions list so doing business with that company may not be something that?s advisable.

“Neither CHEC Port City Colombo nor its parent company China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) and China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) are listed in the United States sanctions which were announced in August 2020,” CHEC Port City Colombo said in a statement.

CHEC Port City Colombo reiterated that the company has no direct business relationship with any of the China Communications Construction Company?s subsidiary companies targeted by US sanctions.

The subsidiaries which were included in the said US sanctions were a few companies involved in South China Sea reclamation work.

“The land reclamation work of Port City Colombo conducted by CHEC Port City Colombo (Pvt) Ltd is an entirely different subsidiary of CCCC. Furthermore, it is important to note that there were no US actions against the project company?s parent company, CCCC at any point. CCCC is a Fortune 500 company currently ranking 78th,” CHEC Port City Colombo said.

The statement noted that land reclamation work for Port City Colombo was completed back in January 2019. Construction of state-of-the-art internal infrastructure is currently being carried out and 20 land plots are now ready for vertical construction.

“It is our intent to bring clarity to Ambassador Alaina B. Teplitz?s misleading comments and provide with an unbiased understanding of Port City Colombo,” CHEC Port City Colombo said.

The company said that investment friendly policies, efficient administrative systems coupled with the master planned city to be built on sustainable principles make Port City Colombo a compelling investment opportunity for any investor regardless of the nationality. (Colombo Gazette)