China builds Sri Lanka's $15 billion city

[Beijingwalker]

Forgot to add economic crisis because of the predatory loans taken and pushed from China during the tenure of a corrupt president..

lOl, you are just jealous that Sri lanka, with China's help , has become an upper-middle-income nation and you India is stuck in poverty forever.

Sri Lanka is now upper middle income. Why India stays put
The World Bank has moved Sri Lanka back into the upper-middle-income category, marking a significant milestone in the island nation's recovery from its devastating 2022 economic crisis. Vietnam and the Philippines have also been upgraded, reflecting years of sustained economic expansion.

India, meanwhile, continues to be classified as a lower-middle-income economy, a status it has held since 2007.

https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/india/sri-lanka-is-now-upper-middle-income-why-india-stays-put-despite-a-booming-economy-13965878.html

 

[vasanthm]

lOl, you are just jealous that Sri lanka, with China's help , has become an upper-middle-income nation and you India is stuck in poverty forever.

Sri Lanka is now upper middle income. Why India stays put
The World Bank has moved Sri Lanka back into the upper-middle-income category, marking a significant milestone in the island nation's recovery from its devastating 2022 economic crisis. Vietnam and the Philippines have also been upgraded, reflecting years of sustained economic expansion.

India, meanwhile, continues to be classified as a lower-middle-income economy, a status it has held since 2007.

https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/india/sri-lanka-is-now-upper-middle-income-why-india-stays-put-despite-a-booming-economy-13965878.html

If not for Chinese meddling, they might have done even better

 

[ety]

Forgot to add economic crisis because of the predatory loans taken and pushed from China during the tenure of a corrupt president..

Lol, in you haters minds, everything China does in the world is evil, only good can come out from you people. Do you know what percent of SL foreign loans is Chinese ? 10%. Do you know what is the average interest of Chinese loans lent to SL ? 3.2% And what is the average interest of other foreign loans lent to SL ? 4%. Sore losers always blame on China, lol.

Chinese Loans: Between 2008 and 2021, the effective interest rate on overall Chinese lending to Sri Lanka averaged 3.2%. [1]

If you want a single, realistic benchmark for all non-Chinese foreign debt grouped together, 4% is the generally accepted average cost. [1]

 

[vasanthm]

Lol, in you haters minds, everything China does in the world evil, only good can come out from you people. Do you know what percent of SL foreign loans is Chinese ? 10%. Do you know what is the average interest of Chinese loans lent to SL ? 3.2% And what is the average interest of other foreign loans lent to SL ? 4%. Sore losers always blame on China, lol.

Funding something knowing it's not economically viable and will result in the assets being seized is criminal,

 

[K2RULEZ]

How's Hambantota doing? The white elephant that ended up on a 99 year lease to China? Hope this isn't the sequel.

How is Chabahar doing?

 

[K2RULEZ]

Forgot to add economic crisis because of the predatory loans taken and pushed from China during the tenure of a corrupt president..

Shouldn't you be crying about the Abraham Accords and IMEC failing?

 

[vasanthm]

How is Chabahar doing?

Maybe not good but we didn't trap an unsuspecting country like a loan shark China is, hope Lankans are careful while signing any papers this time around

 

[K2RULEZ]

Maybe not good but we didn't trap an unsuspecting country like a loan shark Chins is

I think countries are more satisfied with Chinese loans than Western loans in the guise of IMF etc. You are living a delusional lie as usual.

 

[Thinking_Hard]

lOl, you are just jealous that Sri lanka, with China's help , has become an upper-middle-income nation and you India is stuck in poverty forever.

Sri Lanka is now upper middle income. Why India stays put
The World Bank has moved Sri Lanka back into the upper-middle-income category, marking a significant milestone in the island nation's recovery from its devastating 2022 economic crisis. Vietnam and the Philippines have also been upgraded, reflecting years of sustained economic expansion.

India, meanwhile, continues to be classified as a lower-middle-income economy, a status it has held since 2007.

https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/india/sri-lanka-is-now-upper-middle-income-why-india-stays-put-despite-a-booming-economy-13965878.html

Yeah, with Chinese "aid", they went from middle income to begging for food. And they chose the "forever poor" India to beg. We still aid them to this day.

Wonders of story narration.

 

[huanghong]

How's Hambantota doing? The white elephant that ended up on a 99 year lease to China? Hope this isn't the sequel.

"A highly profitable white elephant"—what a strange phrase. As soon as people notice the "white elephant" is actually making money, the discussion suddenly shifts to the lease duration.

Hambantota International Port (HIP) has not only consistently maintained a profitable operating status over the past two years (2024–2026), but its financial and operational metrics have also hit all-time highs.

The specific profitability and operational conditions are as follows:

1. Financial Performance: Substantial Growth in Revenue and Profits

• Monthly and Annual Profitability Realized: After China Merchants Port (CMPort) took over operations and completed a series of upgrades to deep-water berths and equipment, the port's operational state underwent a fundamental turnaround. As early as the beginning of 2024, HIP achieved a positive net profit attributable to the parent company on a monthly basis; it subsequently maintained steady profitability throughout the entire 2024 and 2025 fiscal years.
• Explosive Revenue Growth: According to operational data, in the first nine months of 2025 alone, HIP's operating revenue exceeded $132 million, representing a year-on-year increase of nearly 50% and generating ample, sustainable cash flow for the port.

2. Core Businesses Bolstered Strong ProfitabilityThe sustained expansion of profitability was primarily driven by the simultaneous surge across four high-margin business sectors:

• Roll-on/Roll-off (Ro-Ro) Auto Transshipment: Serving as a crucial transshipment hub for major auto exporters—China, Japan, and South Korea—en route to the Middle East, Africa, and South America, vehicle handling and transshipment operations have long provided high-margin cash flow.
• Maritime Bunkering and Energy Replenishment: Leveraging its strategic location adjacent to major Indian Ocean shipping lanes, HIP's large-scale fuel storage facilities provide low-sulfur heavy fuel oil, LNG, and other bunkering services for ocean-going vessels, making this a core pillar of the port's foreign exchange earnings and profitability.
• Surge in Container Throughput: Impacted by geopolitical factors and adjustments to nearby main shipping routes, Hambantota International Port capitalized on the situation to absorb a significant volume of diverted container traffic. Its container throughput surged from approximately 53,000 TEUs in 2024 to 428,000 TEUs in 2025; by the second half of 2026, cumulative container throughput since the handover crossed the 1 million TEU mark.
• Doubling of Total Cargo Volume: In 2025, HIP handled a total cargo volume of 8.24 million metric tons, representing a year-on-year growth rate of approximately 175% compared to 3.00 million tons in 2024.

 

[ety]

Funding something knowing it's not economically viable and will result in the assets being seized is criminal,

Criminal your ***. China didn't force SL to any business deals and there are no debt traps or Chinese seize of SL national assets as you people perpetrating so hard to attack China.


China does not have an automatic "right" or legal claim to seize sovereign national assets in Sri Lanka if the country defaults on or cannot repay its loans. [1, 2]

The Hambantota Port Case Study

The idea that China routinely seizes assets when countries fail to pay—frequently referred to as "debt-trap diplomacy"—is heavily debated, and the prominent case of Sri Lanka's Hambantota Port is often misunderstood: [1, 2, 3, 4]

• • No Seizure / No Debt-Equity Swap: China did not forcibly confiscate the port. Instead, because the port failed to generate enough revenue to cover its costs, the Sri Lankan government voluntarily chose to negotiate a commercial lease. [1, 2, 3, 4]
  • The 99-Year Lease: In 2017, Sri Lanka signed a 99-year lease agreement giving a 70% majority stake in the port to China Merchants Port Holdings (a state-controlled Chinese firm) in exchange for a $1.12 billion investment. [1, 2]
  • Where the Money Went: Sri Lanka used the cash injection from the lease to help pay off other foreign debts and shore up its foreign currency reserves—largely owed to Western and private creditors (such as International Sovereign Bonds/Eurobonds)—rather than directly paying down Chinese loans, which remained on Sri Lanka’s books.

 

[vasanthm]

"A highly profitable white elephant"—what a strange phrase. As soon as people notice the "white elephant" is actually making money, the discussion suddenly shifts to the lease duration.

Hambantota International Port (HIP) has not only consistently maintained a profitable operating status over the past two years (2024–2026), but its financial and operational metrics have also hit all-time highs.

The specific profitability and operational conditions are as follows:

1. Financial Performance: Substantial Growth in Revenue and Profits

• Monthly and Annual Profitability Realized: After China Merchants Port (CMPort) took over operations and completed a series of upgrades to deep-water berths and equipment, the port's operational state underwent a fundamental turnaround. As early as the beginning of 2024, HIP achieved a positive net profit attributable to the parent company on a monthly basis; it subsequently maintained steady profitability throughout the entire 2024 and 2025 fiscal years.
• Explosive Revenue Growth: According to operational data, in the first nine months of 2025 alone, HIP's operating revenue exceeded $132 million, representing a year-on-year increase of nearly 50% and generating ample, sustainable cash flow for the port.

2. Core Businesses Bolstered Strong ProfitabilityThe sustained expansion of profitability was primarily driven by the simultaneous surge across four high-margin business sectors:

• Roll-on/Roll-off (Ro-Ro) Auto Transshipment: Serving as a crucial transshipment hub for major auto exporters—China, Japan, and South Korea—en route to the Middle East, Africa, and South America, vehicle handling and transshipment operations have long provided high-margin cash flow.
• Maritime Bunkering and Energy Replenishment: Leveraging its strategic location adjacent to major Indian Ocean shipping lanes, HIP's large-scale fuel storage facilities provide low-sulfur heavy fuel oil, LNG, and other bunkering services for ocean-going vessels, making this a core pillar of the port's foreign exchange earnings and profitability.
• Surge in Container Throughput: Impacted by geopolitical factors and adjustments to nearby main shipping routes, Hambantota International Port capitalized on the situation to absorb a significant volume of diverted container traffic. Its container throughput surged from approximately 53,000 TEUs in 2024 to 428,000 TEUs in 2025; by the second half of 2026, cumulative container throughput since the handover crossed the 1 million TEU mark.
• Doubling of Total Cargo Volume: In 2025, HIP handled a total cargo volume of 8.24 million metric tons, representing a year-on-year growth rate of approximately 175% compared to 3.00 million tons in 2024.

Then why not hand it back to the poor lankans rather than rent seeking from other ppl land

 

[huanghong]

Then why not hand it back to the poor lankans rather than rent seeking from other ppl land

Strange claim—wasn't it the case that Sri Lanka, after mismanaging the port itself, entrusted Hambantota Port to a Chinese company to operate?
Actually, Sri Lanka had approached India first to take over the project, but was rejected. You seem to have selectively lost your memory?

I. The Complete Evolution of Hambantota Port

Initiation and Construction (2007–2010)

Sri Lanka-led: Hambantota Port was a hometown reorganization and national infrastructure planning project of then-Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The Sri Lankan government initially approached India and other countries to finance the port's construction, but was rejected by all of them, and subsequently turned to China to apply for loans.

Chinese contracting: China provided the funding (mostly preferential/commercial loans from the Export-Import Bank of China) and Chinese enterprises undertook the construction, but ownership of the port and initial operating rights belonged entirely to the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA).

Sri Lanka's Independent Operation Phase and Massive Losses (2012–2016)

Poor management: After the port opened in 2012 and was operated independently by Sri Lanka, due to lack of management experience, competition from the nearby Port of Colombo, and incomplete supporting facilities at the port, throughput was extremely low (in the whole of 2012, only 34 ships called at the port).

Mounting debt pressure: The port not only failed to make a profit but instead generated tens of millions of dollars in annual operating losses and interest, becoming a huge financial burden for the Sri Lankan government.

Restructuring and Long-Term Lease Joint Venture (2017–present)

Monetization/transfer of operating rights: In 2017, in order to alleviate the country's overall debt crisis and turn the port around, the Sri Lankan government decided to restructure Hambantota Port's assets.

Joint venture agreement: China Merchants Port Holdings Company Limited (CMPort) invested approximately US$1.12 billion to purchase shares in the port joint venture company (HIPG) and obtained a 99-year lease operating right. After receiving this capital injection, Sri Lanka used it to repay its national external debt and handed the port's actual commercial operations over to the experienced Chinese enterprise.

 

[ety]

Then why not hand it back to the poor lankans rather than rent seeking from other ppl land

Why would China give up its legal business deals ? Lol, what a stupid question. So whenever Chinese investments are making profits in other countries, China should just give up and return the business to those countries like you people want Chinese companies to do in your country all the time ? Think Chinese are fools, lol.

 

[vasanthm]

Strange claim—wasn't it the case that Sri Lanka, after mismanaging the port itself, entrusted Hambantota Port to a Chinese company to operate?
Actually, Sri Lanka had approached India first to take over the project, but was rejected. You seem to have selectively lost your memory?

I. The Complete Evolution of Hambantota Port

Initiation and Construction (2007–2010)

Sri Lanka-led: Hambantota Port was a hometown reorganization and national infrastructure planning project of then-Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The Sri Lankan government initially approached India and other countries to finance the port's construction, but was rejected by all of them, and subsequently turned to China to apply for loans.

Chinese contracting: China provided the funding (mostly preferential/commercial loans from the Export-Import Bank of China) and Chinese enterprises undertook the construction, but ownership of the port and initial operating rights belonged entirely to the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA).

Sri Lanka's Independent Operation Phase and Massive Losses (2012–2016)

Poor management: After the port opened in 2012 and was operated independently by Sri Lanka, due to lack of management experience, competition from the nearby Port of Colombo, and incomplete supporting facilities at the port, throughput was extremely low (in the whole of 2012, only 34 ships called at the port).

Mounting debt pressure: The port not only failed to make a profit but instead generated tens of millions of dollars in annual operating losses and interest, becoming a huge financial burden for the Sri Lankan government.

Restructuring and Long-Term Lease Joint Venture (2017–present)

Monetization/transfer of operating rights: In 2017, in order to alleviate the country's overall debt crisis and turn the port around, the Sri Lankan government decided to restructure Hambantota Port's assets.

Joint venture agreement: China Merchants Port Holdings Company Limited (CMPort) invested approximately US$1.12 billion to purchase shares in the port joint venture company (HIPG) and obtained a 99-year lease operating right. After receiving this capital injection, Sri Lanka used it to repay its national external debt and handed the port's actual commercial operations over to the experienced Chinese enterprise.

Modern east india company