India, Japan back in another Sri Lanka port project

Context

India and Japan will develop the West Container Terminal (WCT) at the Colombo Port. The High Commission of India had “approved” Adani Ports for the project.

About the project

• Under the project, India and Japan will develop the strategic Colombo Port’s Western Container Terminal (WCT) under a joint venture.
• Time period: 35 years
• Investors:
  • India: Adani Ports, which had earlier been nominated to develop the ECT, has secured the Indian nomination for developing the WCT.
  • Japan: Japan is yet to nominate its investor.
• Stake: Unlike in the case of the ECT, where India and Japan were to jointly own 49 per cent of the stake, the two will have 85 per cent stake in the WCT.

Background

• The decision comes a month after the Rajapaksa government ejected the two partners from a 2019 tripartite agreement to jointly develop the East Container Terminal (ECT), citing resistance to “foreign involvement”.
• The month-long saga of withdrawing from an agreement on ECT and offering the WCT in return comes at a time when Sri Lanka is facing the heat at the Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva.
  • A UN report has called for drastic measures against those allegedly responsible for rights violations in the final phase of the armed conflict with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
• The approval for a new project within a few months finds its strategic significance for India and Sri Lanka both.