20 May 2021 12:05 am Views - 205
It’s chairperson will always be a Sri Lankan as per the new amendments proposed by the government
Majority of members of the Commission which will administer the Colombo Port City will be Sri Lankans while its chairperson will always be a Sri Lankan as per the new amendments proposed by the government for the Colombo Port City Economic Commission Bill, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa told Parliament yesterday.
Kicking off the debate on the Port City Economic Commission Bill the Prime Minister said the government has proposed another amendment under which 75 percent of the new employment opportunities in the Port City project will be confined to Sri Lankans. Also he said all the amendments recommended by the Supreme Court will be brought in at the end of the second reading of the Bill.
“However others will be employed only if it is not possible to find Sri Lankans with necessary skills. This particular amendment is being made to ensure that a large number of Sri Lankans will benefit from the project,” the Prime Minister said. “We were able to increase Sri Lanka’s GDP to $ 79 billion in 2014 from $ 24 billion in 2009. However the country’s GDP was reduced to $ 80 billion in 2020 from $ 82 billion in the previous year. “The government intends to attract $15 billion worth of investments from the Port City project in five years.