Sri Lanka recently unveiled a South Asia&rsquos tallest tower built under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The tower, funded 80% by China, costs over USD 100 million.

The tower stands 350-metre-tall and is 17-storeyed, called the Lotus Tower. It is located in the heart of Colombo city and comprises a television tower, a hotel, a telecommunications museum, restaurants, auditorium, an observation deck, a shopping mall and a conference centre. The tower is spread over an area of 30,600 sq metres.

According to a Colombo Page report, Sri Lanka and China signed the Lotus Tower agreement in 2012 under the Chinese government's ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to build the highest TV tower in South Asia, with China National Electronics Import and Export Corporation (CEIEC) being the general contractor.

The project began in the year 2012 but was delayed due to funding issues. The complete structure is not ready yet, however, it has been opened to public.
"We still have not completed this project, but we decided to go ahead and open sections of the tower that can be accessed by people," Sirisena said during the unveiling ceremony, as reported by PTI.

The Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) in a release said the Lotus Tower is foreseen to be one of the significant landmarks and an epitome of the country's economy, culture and development. The tower, which is expected to function as Sri Lanka's ''digital TV tower'', is built with fibre optic cables and is fully equipped with necessary telecommunication equipment.

(With inputs from PTI)