Mahinda Rajapaksha Port (White Elephant) (Hambantota)

Sri Lanka / Hambantota / Hambantota
The Port of Hambantota (also known as the Magampura Port) is a maritime port in Hambantota, Sri Lanka. The first phase of the port was opened on 18 November 2010, with the first ceremonial berthing of the naval ship "Jetliner" to use the port facilities. Hambantota Port is built inland and operated by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority.

Funded almost entirely by China, construction of the port began in January 2008 and finished ~2014 after several expansions. The mega project left the country saddled with over $14 billion in additional debt and since that time has become a white elephant with little traffic. The associated corruption scandal caused the downfall of the Rajapaksha government in 2015, however to try and escape the mounting losses the country had to sell the port and surrounding 15,000 acres of land to a State controlled Chinese corporation.

There are fears that with little in the way of economic usefulness, the port will become a large Chinese military base, in easy striking distance of it's main regional foe, India. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka's debts continue to mount, owing China some 3-4 billion a year in interest payments.

www.nytimes.com/2018/06/25/world/asia/china-sri-lanka-p...
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magampura_Mahinda_Rajapaksa_Port
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   6°7'24"N   81°5'46"E

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This article was last modified 7 years ago