Newsletter | "Underwater Garden" of Sri Lanka's New Maritime City

Xinhua News Agency, Colombo, December 4, Newsletter | "Underwater Garden" in Sri Lanka's new maritime city

Xinhua News Agency reporter Chen Dongshu, Che Hongliang

Seen from the sky above Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka, a 3.7-kilometer-long semi-circular artificial dike looks like an arm, wrapping around the coast of Colombo Port City. If viewed from underwater, this breakwater looks more like an "underwater garden" scattered with coral and fish.

This is a sea floor coral and fish school photographed inside the breakwater of Colombo Port City, Sri Lanka in November 2024. Xinhua News Agency (Photo courtesy of Colombo Port City)

This is a submarine coral photographed inside the breakwater of Colombo Port City, Sri Lanka in November 2024. Xinhua News Agency (Photo courtesy of Colombo Port City)

Piar de Silva, 60, a former Sri Lankan naval commander who served in the military for 35 years before retiring four years ago, now runs a diving school in Port City. Having loved diving as a young man, one day in 2019 he stumbled upon the beauty of the sea.

At that time, as a key cooperation project of the "Belt and Road Initiative" between China and Sri Lanka, Colombo Port City had just completed a land reclamation project. While diving nearby, de Silva found coral growing on the bricks of the breakwater. "Sri Lanka's coral has been severely damaged by ecological deterioration and tsunami impacts. For so many years, I have hardly seen a large coral in the vicinity. This discovery makes me very happy. Experience tells me that in a few years, a large and beautiful coral colony will grow here," he said.

De Silva's discovery immediately attracted the attention of the port city. Later, the port city invited experts from the Chinese Academy of Sciences to Sri Lanka to conduct underwater research and identification, plan and guide coral cultivation, and promoted the establishment of coral nurseries, underwater garbage removal and other environmental protection work to optimize the conditions for coral growth.

In June 2023, experts from the South China Sea Institute of Oceanography of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the University of Luhuna in Sri Lanka went to Harbor City to hold a joint seminar. During this period, relevant experts went to sea to conduct field research on coral populations. The results showed that there are 73 species of coral in the breakwater, with an average coverage rate of 24.36% and a local maximum coverage rate of 60%. Corals provide habitat for fish schools, and 114 species of fish, including endangered species such as corrugated lip, have been found in this sea area.

Corals are extremely picky about their ecological environment, and the Chinese plan of the "Belt and Road Initiative" project has created suitable ecological conditions for the growth of coral communities in Sri Lanka. Expert analysis believes that the breakwater adopts a unique "twisted king block" design improved by Chinese technology, which provides a perfect attachment surface for corals, and creates different water depth ranges through stepped structures, so that corals can grow under suitable water depth and light conditions; at the same time, after many digital and physical model studies, the design of the port city can achieve complete renewal of the inner and outer waters every 10 days, and the water flow can bring nutrients and oxygen to prevent the accumulation of pollutants in high concentrations for a long time.

This is a diving school run by Piar de Silva in the port city of Colombo, Sri Lanka, on November 28. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Chen Dongshu

On November 28, workers carried out greening construction in Colombo Port City, Sri Lanka. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Chen Dongshu

In the 10 years since the project started construction, Colombo Port City has taken the shape of a thriving new city. On this reclaimed land the size of about 377 standard football fields, yacht marinas, coastal avenues, pedestrian bridges, etc. have become leisure and entertainment venues for Colombo citizens, and some children often chase on the public beach.

The children often see Mr. De Silva. Every morning, he throws in feed to attract schools of fish, and occasionally summons the children to the diving school to bring out photos and coral specimens and tell them the story of the "underwater garden." Mr. De Silva said he hoped the children would learn where this healthy and stable marine ecosystem came from and how hard it came to be.

Since the beginning of this year, Port City has further enhanced the "underwater garden" through a series of coral research cooperation with scientific research institutes in China and Sri Lanka, including the addition of 68 coral nurseries, the successful cultivation of more than 5,000 coral plants, and the holding of open days and marine environmental protection volunteer activities, etc., to continuously improve the level of coral ecological research and protection in Sri Lanka.

Zhao Lei, manager of the engineering department of China Harbor Colombo Port City Co., Ltd., said that the port city has determined the overall goals of environmental protection, energy saving, material saving and REDD in the design stage, and achieved "zero pollution and zero accidents" through the whole process environmental assessment and inspection of third-party professional institutions. The port city will continue to actively undertake the ecological responsibility of "afforestation" on the seabed, and create a smart, livable and environmentally beautiful "city of the future".

Mr. De Silva said he had always appreciated China's wisdom in building a community with a shared future for the oceans and was determined to be a practitioner of the concept. "Thank you for the Chinese standards, technologies and solutions used in the Port City project, which have made outstanding contributions to Sri Lanka's marine biodiversity and ecological environment protection."

Tourists play on the beach in the port city of Colombo, Sri Lanka, on November 28. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wu Yue

Tourists play on the beach in the port city of Colombo, Sri Lanka, on November 28. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wu Yue

Tourists play on the beach in the port city of Colombo, Sri Lanka, on November 28. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Chen Dongshu

This is a view of Colombo Port City, Sri Lanka (aerial photo) taken on October 26. Xinhua News Agency (photo courtesy of Colombo Port City)

This is a view of Colombo Port City, Sri Lanka (aerial photo) taken on October 26. Xinhua News Agency (photo courtesy of Colombo Port City)

This is a view of Colombo Port City, Sri Lanka (aerial photo) taken on October 26. Xinhua News Agency (photo courtesy of Colombo Port City)