A China rivalry twist emerges in Sri Lanka’s new US-funded, Indian-built port

The container port terminal being built in Colombo by India’s Adani Group is mostly being paid for with funds from a US government agency

Analysts say it hints at a new type of public-private partnership being rolled out as part of the Quad grouping’s infrastructure push

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The Colombo West International Terminal project, backed by more than US$500 million in funding from a US government agency, is seen under construction on November 8. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 8:30am, 4 Dec 2023

A US-funded port project in Sri Lanka that is partly owned by a private group close to India’s ruling party could signal a new form of partnership to counter growing Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific region.

The Adani Group, controlled by Indian billionaire Gautam Adani and with businesses ranging from ports to edible oils, is developing the Colombo West International Terminal project in Sri Lanka’s capital and holds a 51 per cent stake in the project, backed by more than US$500 million in funding from a US government agency. Sri Lankan conglomerate John Keells Holdings and the state-run Sri Lanka Ports Authority hold the remaining stakes.

India and the United States – alongside Australia and Japan – form the Quad diplomatic network, whose leaders have said they are focused on providing an alternative to Chinese infrastructure projects for developing nations. The new Sri Lankan port terminal, resembling a public-private partnership, would appear to be their first such endeavour.

Construction work on the Colombo West International Terminal project pictured on November 8. Photo: Bloomberg

Analysts say the move signals a new determination on the Quad’s part to guard against smaller nations leaning too heavily on China and its arterial trade and military routes. Another terminal at the port is run by China Merchants Port Holdings Co Ltd.

Cedomir Nestrovic, a professor of geopolitics at the ESSEC Business School Asia-Pacific in Singapore, said it would be too simplistic to characterise the US-funded project as just another business deal.

A China rivalry twist emerges in Sri Lanka’s new US-funded, Indian-built port

The container port terminal being built in Colombo by India’s Adani Group is mostly being paid for with funds from a US government agency Analysts say it hints at a new type of public-private partnership being rolled out as part of the Quad grouping’s infrastructure push

The container port terminal being built in Colombo by India’s Adani Group is mostly being paid for with funds from a US government agency

Analysts say it hints at a new type of public-private partnership being rolled out as part of the Quad grouping’s infrastructure push