Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe Saturday said that the Hambantota Port in southern Sri Lanka will trigger off much needed economic development of backward districts and dismissed allegations that it would be used for military purposes by any foreign country.

The Sri Lanka Ports Authority signed an agreement with China Merchants Port Holdings in July last year to manage the port.

In a statement released by the Prime Minister's Office, it said the agreement over the Port deal was beneficial to both Sri Lanka and China and there was no need for concern as the security of the port would be under control of the Sri Lanka Navy.

The statement further said that no navy in the region had the capacity to land an army division in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka's Ports Minister Mahinda Samarasingha also stressed on Friday that the agreement to manage the Port between China and Sri Lanka was purely commercial and refuted allegations that the port would be used for military purposes.