Sri Lanka has decided to allot a 55-sq-km expanse of land to China for a special economic zone, the country's embassy in Beijing said on Friday.

The SEZ, which fits in with China's Belt and Road Initiative, will transform Sri Lanka into an international hub and improve people's livelihoods, experts say.

"The Chinese have asked for 55 sq km of land in the Hambantota area of Southern Province for their zone, and we are in the process of acquiring the land," Malik Samarawickrama, Sri Lankan minister for international trade and strategic development, told the Daily Times of Sri Lanka this week.