Govt. paying for the sins of past administrations : Gammanpila

COLOMBO (News1st): The development of three Colombo Port terminals via a public-private partnership had been mentioned in an agreement signed with the Asia Development Bank, opposition lawmaker Udaya Gammanpila has said. Speaking at a media briefing, Gammanpila noted that the agreement had been signed by the United National Party government between 2001 and 2004 when they sought a loan from the Asia Development Bank to build a new port. "The name of the East Container Terminal had been mentioned in a tripartite agreement signed with Japan and India on the 28th of May 2019," he added. "We are facing the repercussions of the wrong conduct of the previous administration". Minister Wimal Weerawansa denied that a cabinet paper had been put forward recently to allow India's Adani Group to develop the East Container Terminal. "It was only a cabinet memorandum," he said. However, in a statement issued recently, the Indian High Commission called on Sri Lanka to act in line with a trilateral Memorandum of Cooperation signed in 2019, and also in line with a cabinet decision made three months earlier. This was the paper tabled to the cabinet by ports minister Rohitha Abeygunawardena on the 22nd of October last year. The cabinet paper had highlighted the requirement for an investor to develop the East Container Terminal as it would release the Sri Lanka Ports Authority from its debt burden. It identified India's Adani Logistics Limited as a suitable investor for the project. The cabinet paper had also provided a detailed explanation of the activities carried out by the Adani Group globally. Minister Rohitha Abeygunawardena had sought the appointment of a committee to review the 2019 tri-partite agreement and his proposal, after providing a detailed explanation on the capacity of the investor.