Dharamshala, 4th November: According to a report in the Sri Lankan media, China has chosen to halt work on a project to build Hybrid Energy Systems in Sri Lanka by Sino Soar Hybrid Technology. These systems were supposed to be built on three northern islands near India.
Sri Lanka should be cautious about collaborating with China because China is infamous for tempting underdeveloped countries with enticing project deals that end up trapping the host country in debt. Sri Lanka has previously been trapped in a large debt trap with China, having failed to repay a loan and thereby losing control of one of its major ports for 99 years.
In January of this year, India was reported to have submitted a protest with Sri Lanka after the Chinese firm was awarded a contract to build solar power plants in the northern islands. Sri Lanka recently awarded a contract to a Chinese company for the development of the East Container Terminal at the Colombo port, a project that Lanka had originally committed to India and Japan.
The Chinese embassy in Colombo claimed in a tweet that the solar power systems project in Sri Lanka’s northern islands had been halted due to security concerns raised by a third party, though it did not mention India. The embassy continued by announcing that the same company had now inked a contract with the Maldives.
According to the Chinese embassy, “Sino Soar Hybrid Technology, being suspended to build Hybrid Energy system in 3 northern islands due to ‘security concern’ from a third party, has inked a contract with Maldivian govt on 29 Nov to establish solar power plants at 12 islands in the Maldives,”