Sri Lankans file over a dozen cases against China-backed Colombo Port City Sat, Apr 17 2021 01:47:02 PM By Rahul Kumar New Delhi, Apr 17 (IANS): Sri Lankan opposition parties along with numerous civil society groups have filed several petitions before the Supreme Court against a controversial legislation related to the Chinese-backed Sri Lankan Port City. The legislation—Colombo Port City Economic Commission—relates to the China-backed $1.4 billion Port City in Colombo and is a legal framework for setting up a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) within the Colombo Port City. The Supreme Court has appointed a five-member bench to hear petitions next week. The legislation, which has come under severe criticism from organisations ranging from holy bodies to lawyers' establishments and political parties to IT organisations, proposes setting up a Commission to exclusively provide services related to registrations, licenses, authorizations, and other approvals for business and other activities in the SEZ.