China Merchants in Colombo terminal deal
China Merchant Holdings will partner with Sri Lanka conglomerate Aitken Spence to develop and operate a new terminal in the Port of Colombo, Reuters reported Tuesday.
The deal, worth $450 million, will see China Merchants and Aitken Spence form a joint venture to build the first of three planned 2.5 million-TEU terminals in the key South Asian transshipment port. The terminal is planned to be operational by 2014.
Colombo's current capacity is 4.5 million TEUs, but it will face new pressure from a transshipment terminal now operational in Cochin (in southern India) that could lure Indian-bound containers away from Sri Lanka's biggest port.
China Merchants in Colombo terminal deal
