Port in Hambantota, Sri Lanka is latest in string of deepwater ports built with Chinese aid along Indian ocean coastA vast new Chinese-built and funded port was inauguratedtoday in the far south of Sri Lanka, fuelling the growing concern of neighbours India that they are being encircled by Beijing.
The deep-water facility at Hambantota on the south coast of the island was officially opened by President Mahinda Rajapaksa to kick off spectacular festivities celebrating the official start of his second term in office.The Mahinda Rajapaksa port, built by Chinese labourers and engineers in a turn-key operation funded by soft Chinese loans, lies in the political heartland of Rajapaksa who, though controversial in the west for his alleged involvement in human rights abuses and autocratic style, remains popular among rural constituencies and the Sinhalese ethnic majority in the island nation. A traditional sailing yacht was the first vessel to dock in the port, followed by a cruise ship with dozens of saffron-robed Buddhist monks chanting prayers on its deck. Source by: Jason Burke in Delhi* guardian.co.uk, Thursday 18 November 2010 19.14 GMT
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