Aerial photo on September 23, 2020 shows the massive site reclaimed from the sea to build the Port City real estate project in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka’s top court has ruled that some provisions of legislation to set up a powerful economic commission in a Chinese-built port city violate the constitution and require approval by a public referendum to become law, AP reports. Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena read out the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Colombo Port City Economic Commission Bill on Tuesday. Some other provisions don’t require a referendum but do need approval by a two-thirds majority in Parliament, the court said. The projects include a seaport, airport, highways, power stations and the port city.

Source: The Standard May 19, 2021 04:09 UTC