India to Build Deep Water Port Terminal in Sri Lanka to Counter Beijing’s Influence

This photo taken on Sept. 10, 2014, shows a ship loaded with containers ready for departure at the Chinese-majority owned Colombo International Container Terminal (CICT) in Colombo. Lakruwan Wanniarachchi/AFP via Getty Images

An Indian company has signed a contract worth US$700 million to build a strategically important deep-water container terminal in Sri Lanka, a move considered a countermeasure to China’s growing influence in South Asia.

The Adani Group of India signed the agreement with the Sri Lanka Port Authority (SLPA) on Sept. 30 to build the terminal at the port of Colombo, the island nation’s capital.