Whose airspace is it? Fresh row in Sri Lanka over Chinese-funded Port City project
China hits back after aviation authority says air above port project will be Chinese-held
The controversial Colombo Port City project has run into more trouble, with Sri Lanka's Civil Aviation Authority warning the airspace over the Chinese-held area in the development would be controlled by China, drawing heavy criticism from Beijing.
Sri Lanka's director-general of civil aviation and chief executive H.M.C. Nimalsiri told the South China Morning Post: "Given the media rumours of land ownership in the project, we felt it necessary to alert the government to the legal status of the airspace."
The US$1.4 billion real estate project, inaugurated by President Xi Jinping in September, is financed by state-controlled and Hong Kong-listed China Communications Construction Co (CCCC). Under the deal, CCCC is to reclaim 233 hectares of land off Colombo. Of this, CCCC would get 108 hectares, including 20 hectares on freehold basis and the rest on a 99-year lease.
The authority's stance is likely to provide grist for the opponents of the stalled project who have alleged that granting a Chinese state-owned company land would pose security threats. That argument has gained traction since two Chinese submarines docked in Colombo last year.
The Civil Aviation Authority's internal memo to the government on airspace was reported by Sri Lanka's state-run Daily News yesterday in a report headlined "Flying over Port City a Taboo!"
The Chinese embassy lashed out at the report, saying it was devoid of "basic common sense" and pointed out a Chinese company would hold the land, not the Chinese government.