India's Adani to hold majority stake in Sri Lankan terminal

COLOMBO (News1st): India's Adani Group has said that it will hold a 51 percent stake in the West Container Terminal of the Colombo Port. Cabinet spokesperson Keheliya Rambukwella said today, India's Adani Group and John Keells Holdings PLC will hold a 51 per cent stake in the West Container Terminal and the remaining 49 percent stake will be divided between the Sri Lanka Ports Authority and other local investors. On its website, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd said that Sri Lanka has sent a Letter of Intent on handing over a 51 per cent stake to the company. Meanwhile, John Keells Holdings PLC has submitted a disclosure to the Colombo Stock Exchange to develop the Colombo Port's West Container Terminal with Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited. In its disclosure, the local firm had said that it would sign a concession agreement on the project in due course. However, the Sri Lanka Ports Authority Chairman, Retired General Daya Rathnayake said that the Sri Lanka Ports Authority will hold a 15 percent stake of the terminal. "The remaining stake can be shared between any other entity," he noted. But the SLPA chairman said that he does not understand the grounds on which the Adani Group has claimed a 51 percent stake in the entity. Pubudu Jagoda, Propaganda Secretary Frontline Socialist Party said "On one hand, Port and Airports of the country are being privatized. When you look at it from a political angle, Sri Lanka is caught in the crossfire of the power struggle among China, the United States, Russia and India." He pointed out that even though the East Container Terminal was not given away to third party entities, the West Container Terminal has been given to the Adani Group of Companies for an even bigger stake.