Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited (APSEZ) is the only Indian investor that will be allowed to invest in the West Container Terminal (WCT) at the Colombo Port, Co-Cabinet Spokesman Minister Udaya Gammanpila said today.
He said that this decision has been taken since Adani was the original investor for the East Container Terminal.
“However, since the government decided not to attract investments for the ECT, we allowed Adani to invest in WCT,” he said.
Further, he stated that foreign loans will not be taken for the development of the East Container Terminal.
“We are currently in a massive debt crisis as of now. Therefore, long-term and large foreign loans will not be obtained for the development of the East Container Terminal,” he stated.
When inquired on how the government would handle obtaining loans from local banks, Gammanpila said, “If the local banks are unable to provide such a large amount, we would request a syndicate loan, which has been used in the past.”
Speaking further, he said, “However, if that also fails, we have made plans for the Sri Lanka Ports Authority to appear in the share market and request locals to invest in the ECT.”
Source: nation.lk