Adani controls strategically important ports in Sri Lanka

New delhi date. 3

Adani Port and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ), a leading company of the Adani Group, has cracked a big deal in Sri Lanka. The company has been tasked with developing and operating a port in Sri Lanka that is strategically important to China.

The Adani Group has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Sri Lankan Ports Authority, a Sri Lankan state-owned company, to develop and operate the Western Container Terminal. With this, the Adani Group has become the first Indian company to handle any port terminal in Sri Lanka. The terminal is located at the port of Colombo in Sri Lanka.

The Adani Group will have a 51% stake in Western Container Terminal (WCT). APSEZ will develop the terminal on a built-operate-transfer basis in collaboration with local company John Keys Holdings and SLP. The share of local partners in the project will be 5 and 12 per cent respectively. The Sri Lankan port of Colombo is very handy for Indian containers and mainline ship operators. This is their first choice for transhipment. Apart from this, a quad group of four countries, including India and Japan, has been formed to limit China's growing interference in the Indo-Pacific region.