U.S. lends $553M for Sri Lanka terminal

COLOMBO (AFP) -— The United States will lend more than $550 million for an Indian-led deep-sea container terminal in Sri Lanka, officials said Wednesday, with the project seen as countering China's rising influence in the Indian Ocean.

The new Colombo West International Terminal is being built by a consortium led by India's Adani Group.

The Adani facility has an estimated cost of $700 million and is located immediately next to a similar Chinese-run jetty at the capital's sprawling port.

The US government-run International Development Finance Corporation said it was providing  $553 million in funding for the Adani-led project.

"Sri Lanka is one of the world's key transit hubs, with half of all container ships transiting through its waters," IDFC chief Scott Nathan said in Colombo.

Sri Lanka went bankrupt in a financial crisis last year, but the loan to the private development would not add to its sovereign debt, Nathan added, "while at the same time strengthening the position of our allies across the region."

The new container jetty will be 1.4 kilometers long, 20 meters deep and have an annual capacity of 3.2 million containers.

Sri Lanka sits astride the world's busiest shipping route, which links the Middle East and East Asia, giving its maritime assets strategic importance.