Heavily indebted Sri Lanka needs the money, but payment for China's interests in Hambantota port could be delayed by several weeks or months, the sources added. Beijing also has a separate understanding with Colombo to develop a 15,000-acre industrial zone in the same area, a deal that Sri Lanka was hoping to finalize later. Yi Xianliang, Chinese ambassador to Sri Lanka, said the two deals were related. "If we just have the port and no industrial zone, what is the use of the port? Hundreds of protesters clashed with police in January when a demonstration against the planned industrial zone turned violent.

Source: Sunday Times February 15, 2017 22:52 UTC