A new container terminal at the port of Colombo in Sri Lanka will be built with the help of finance from China. The agreement between Sri Lanka Ports Authority and Colombo International Container Terminals (a consortium between a Chinese and Sri Lankan company) was signed in Shenzhen, China. The Chinese government officially invited Sri Lankan President to attend the signing. Chinese investors and engineering companies are building another big container port on the southern tip of Sri Lanka.
The government of India is concerned about China’s growing economic influence in South Asia, and may be one of the reasons why the Indian government has proposed its own sovereign fund ports company to bid for new ports contracts.