Sri Lanka revives Colombo port deal with Japan, India over ‘geopolitical concerns’
- The East Container Terminal is a deep-sea terminal in Colombo harbour that is next to a controversial US$500-million Chinese-run container jetty
- The project was put on hold amid trade union resistance, but officials say work will now resume
Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Wednesday announced the revival of an Indian and Japanese investment project to develop a deep-sea terminal in Colombo harbour next to a controversial US$500-million Chinese-run container jetty.
A tripartite deal by Sri Lanka’s previous government had been on hold amid trade union resistance, but Rajapaksa said the East Container Terminal (ECT) would proceed.
Approval came after reviewing “regional geopolitical concerns”, Rajapaksa’s office said, a reference to India’s suspicion of China’s role at the same port.
The terminal will be developed with 51 per cent ownership by Sri Lanka’s government and the remaining 49 per cent as an investment by India’s Adani Group and other stakeholders including Japan, officials said.
The state-run Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) entered into a memorandum of cooperation in May 2019 with Sri Lanka, India and Japan to develop the ECT before Rajapaksa came to power in November 2019.
The deep-sea jetty is located next to the Colombo International Container Terminal which is 85 per cent owned by China and was commissioned in 2013. The SLPA owns the remaining 15 per cent.
India lodged protests when Chinese submarines made unannounced visits to the Chinese-managed terminal in 2014.
