The Emperor’s New Road: China and the Project of the Century by Jonathan E. Hillman

Author:Jonathan E. Hillman [Hillman, Jonathan E.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

All That Glistens

China was not the preferred lender but often Sri Lanka’s last or only resort. There were no competing offers for Hambantota’s port, suggesting that other potential lenders did not see rewards commensurate with the project’s risks. Sri Lankan officials should have interpreted that lack of interest as an important warning. Instead, with the project having been judged too risky by international lenders for a loan with a lower rate, they pushed ahead with loans at higher rates.

Rajapaksa was so eager to build that some feasibility studies became a box-checking exercise rather than a tool for risk mitigation. The most glaring example is a thirty-minute drive from Hambantota Port. Out of the jungle, past signs warning drivers about wild elephants, a $210 million airport emerges. China Export-Import Bank provided a concessional loan, and China Harbour Engineering Company, the same company behind Hambantota Port, built the facility. The government reportedly spent less than $6,000 on the feasibility study for the airport, ignoring previous work that examined options for a second international airport. At the time, Rajapaksa’s cousin Prasanna Wickramasuriya was chairman of the state agency that operated the airports.26

The Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport was intended to become a gateway for tourists but has become a destination itself since opening in 2013.27 For less than a dollar, people can visit the airport’s main hall, where a large Buddha statue greets visitors. At the airport’s peak, a handful of airlines used it, including a new state-owned airline called Mihin, the diminutive form of Mahinda. For a brief period of time, it was possible to buy tickets using currency with Rajapaksa’s image on it to fly Mihin to Rajapaksa Airport.28 After landing in Mattala, you could go to the Rajapaksa port, the Rajapaksa cricket stadium, or the Rajapaksa National Tele-Cinema Park.

As it turned out, not many people wanted to do any of those things. Mihin ceased operations in 2016, and without sufficient demand, even Sri Lanka’s largest national airline stopped operations at Mattala. In 2017, the airport averaged seven passengers a day, and in 2018, the last commercial airline, FlyDubai, announced it was canceling its service. Except for the occasional emergency landing, and a skeleton staff to perform essential tasks, the facility then sat unused.

While skimping on the airport feasibility study, Rajapaksa spent nearly $800,000 of public money for an opening ceremony for Hambantota Port, on November 18, 2010. It was his sixty-fifth birthday and the last day of his first term in office. Rajapaksa must have consulted his personal astrologer, Sumanadasa Abeygunawardena, who was trusted to select auspicious dates and times for state events. As Rajapaksa rose, so did Abeygunawardena. His horoscope text-message service expanded thanks to a deal with the state telecom company, and Rajapaksa appointed him to Sri Lanka’s National Savings Bank board despite his complete lack of banking experience.29

The Hambantota Port opening was an opportunity to celebrate with friends and, naturally, to reward loyalty. The Sri Lankan actor Jackson Anthony emceed the event and collected a $179,000 fee, ostensibly for helping to organize it.

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