Days after the Sri Lanka Cabinet announced the proposal to clear an investment by India’s Adani Ports to jointly develop the West Container Terminal Port in Colombo, Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka said they were not involved in clearing any such proposal. 

“Approvals of investments in Sri Lanka is a matter for Sri Lankan authorities and not the Indian High Commission,” an Indian diplomat was quoted as saying by EconomyNext. He also expressed “surprise” over the announcement. 

Sri Lanka’s Cabinet on Monday cleared the West Container Terminal to be developed as a built operate transfer (BOT) public-private partnership with Sri Lanka Ports Authority and parties nominated by Indian and Japanese governments. 

The announcement came exactly a month after Sri Lanka scrapped the 2019 agreement where Sri Lanka, Japan, and India were to jointly develop the Colombo Port’s lucrative East Container Terminal. 

A release by the Cabinet had stated that the proposal presented by the Adani Ports and Special Economic Zones (APSEZ) was also approved by the Indian High Commission in Colombo. It also said the Japanese government hasn’t yet recommended any of its investors. 

Earlier reports in the media said the APSEZ was directly negotiating the proposal with Sri Lankan authorities and the Indian officials weren’t in the loop.