Construction of the Chinese funded ‘Lotus Tower’ began Friday, as the foundation stone was laid in Colombo.
A Chinese conglomerate comprising of the China National Electronics Import and Export Corporation (CEIEC) and Aerospace Long-March International Trade Co. Ltd (ALIT) will be undertaking the construction project, which is set to be the tallest tower in South Asia. The project is also being funded by the EXIM Bank of China who is providing a $100 million loan.
The President’s brother, Economic Minister Basil Rajapakse laid the foundation stone for the tower in Colombo.
A leaked 2007 US Embassy cable from then Ambassador Robert Blake revealed that Basil Rajapakse was known as “Mr Ten Percent”, as he demanded a ten percent commission on every project as Minister, and noted “Basil continues to be accused of significant corruption in his current position”.
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Fittngly, the concept video for the project, seen below, states,
“In Sri Lanka, the Buddhist kingdom, with great desire of peace and development the lotus is considered as the flower which symbolises pure, clean and honest.”
Pure, clean and honest Buddhist supremacy.
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