Hambantota Port, a symbol of BRI's multilateral approach

Sri Lanka’s Hambantota Port is among the most misunderstood Belt and Road projects in the world. Originally opened in 2010, in 2016 Hambantota re-structured its operational model. This saw China Merchants Port take out a lease for 70 percent of the port’s total ownership and as such, the Chinese firm has poured nearly 1 billion U.S. dollars into the port’s further development so as to improve its capacity and operational functionality.

Some have pointed out the 2016 re-structuring as a symptom of failure when in actual fact, both small ventures and mega-projects like a major port often involve subsequent restructuring after the initial completion of construction. In any venture, therefore, one must look at the results rather than the process which at all times must be flexible if it is to attain the best results.

Hambantota continues to bring added value into the Sri Lankan economy while helping to position the ideally located country as a major terminus for East-West trade. The port's majority Chinese owners are now set to welcome further international investment from a variety of sources including from Oman and India.

Chinese workers help to build a new train station in Beliatta, in a southern province near Hambantota, which is Chinese managed and designed, in Beliatta, Sri Lanka, November 18, 2018. /VCG Photo

This will help to further incentivize future investments in Hambantota which is on track to become one of the world's most important shipping ports. Even in its initial years, Hambantota has been a success insofar as it has given Sri Lanka ever expanded opportunities to define its trading outlook at the heart of ever-expanding trading routes that will help to propel the country into greater prosperity throughout the 21st century. In addition, since becoming operational, the port has seen ever more revenue pour into Sri Lankan national coffers.

An added attraction of Hambantota is that the foreign investors who work with the Port's management to expand its operational capacity will also be able to find other opportunities for investment in Sri Lanka. Just as the Chinese-built port at Gwadar in Pakistan is helping to transform the city and wider region into a major multilateral investment destination, so too will an ever expanding and ever more internationalized operation at Hambantota help to bring new opportunities to Sri Lanka as a whole.

The Colombo Port City project, seen jutting out into the ocean, will eventually be 65 million cubic meters of sand, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, November 8, 2018. /VCG Photo‍

The move to internationalize investment into Hambantota is a further demonstration of the truly multilateral nature of the Belt and Road Initiative. China has always been very candid about seeking as many multilateral partnerships within various Belt and Road projects as possible in order to help foster ever stronger win-win relations between countries looking to help build modern interconnected rules based on the trading order.

Sri Lanka is an important case study in this respect as the country has good relations with both China and India. China is never in the business of making any partner “choose sides” in respect of foreign partnerships, but instead seeks the presence of multiple partners under the Belt and Road Initiative as a means of honing in on the win-win spirit. As such, China is happy to see potential Indian investment coming into Hambantota.

Far from being a “debt trap,” Hambantota is a major multilateral investment opportunity that will benefit all participants but ultimately will benefit the Sri Lankan economy most of all. Hambantota's continued expansion is symptomatic of its implicit attraction to both shipping companies, major exporters and investors from around the world. In this way, the success of the project not only speaks for itself but continues to reverberate louder as more nations become inserted in sharing in the project's sustainable and expanding success.

(CGTN)