Exclusive: Revival of Hambantota port in Sri Lanka may strengthen China’s position in Indian Ocean

Revival of Hambantota International Port in Sri Lanka may strengthen China’s position in the Indian Ocean.

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has been highly criticised for its implementation and rate of returns on numerous occasions and one could never de-link the strategically located Hambantota International Port from BRI. This port was handed over to China Merchants Port Holdings (CMPort) on a 99-year lease by the Sri Lankan government with a payment of US$1.12 billion as the island nation couldn’t pay back the funding capital debt to China. #Beijing's Sinopec Group dealing in oil, petrochemical products & gas recently commenced operations at its depot in #Hambantota Port #SriLanka, satellite images show #China's new fueling point for the Belt & Road/European-Asian sea route in the #IndianOceanRegion pic.twitter.com/A5RJSyDY60 Political activists and commentators often viewed this agreement between the China Merchant Port Holdings Company (CMPort) and Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) as an unfair deal. It is noteworthy that the Chinese state-owned company CMPort currently has an overall stake of 80 per cent, and the SLPA has 20 per cent. This is one of the main reasons why Sri Lanka is quoted as a victim of debt trap diplomacy of China’s BRI. But now, while the world continues to battle the pandemic, the fortunes of the Hambantota port seem to be changing.