COLOMBO – Sri Lanka Tuesday announced it is entering into partnership withIndia and Japan to develop a deep-sea container terminal next to acontroversial $500-million Chinese-run container jetty in Colombo harbour.
The state-run Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) said a memorandum ofcooperation (MOC) had been signed between the three countries to developwhat is known as the East Terminal of the Colombo port.
The SLPA said it will retain 51 percent of the company that will run theterminal while the rest will be owned by India and Japan. It gave nofurther details of the costs of the project.
“The MOC demonstrates Sri Lanka’s ability to maintain and further it’snational interests while cooperating with international partners,” the SLPAsaid in a statement.
China owns 85 percent of the adjoining terminal known as the ColomboInternational Container Terminal (CICT) which was commissioned in 2013. TheSLPA owns the remaining 15 percent of the company.
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The SLPA said 70 percent of transhipment containers handled by Colombo wasIndian export-import cargo.
In December 2017, Sri Lanka, unable to repay a huge Chinese loan, handedover another deep sea port in the south of the island to a Beijing companyin a deal that raised concerns at home and abroad.
The $1.12 billion deal first announced in July 2016 allowed a Chinesestate company to take over the Hambantota port, which straddles the world’sbusiest east-west shipping route, on a 99-year lease. -APP/AFP
