"China 'Silk Road' project in Sri Lanka delayed as Beijing toughens stance", 17 Feb 2017

China will delay a planned $1.1 billion investment in a port...until Sri Lanka clears legal and political obstacles to a related project…After signing an agreement last December, state-run China Merchants Port Holdings had been expected to buy an 80 percent stake in the southern port before an initial target date of Jan. 7. Beijing also has a separate understanding with Colombo to develop a 15,000-acre industrial zone in the same area...But Colombo's plans to sell the stake and acquire land for the industrial zone have run into stiff domestic opposition, backed by trade unions and former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. A legislator close to Rajapaksa is also challenging the government's plans in court. Now Beijing [is]...saying it would hold off on both until Colombo resolved domestic issues…The terms did not go down well with port trade unions, which have asked the government to reduce the Chinese stake to 65 percent and lease period to 50 years. Hundreds of protesters clashed with police in January when a demonstration against the planned industrial zone turned violent.