India’s Adani group and their partners will hold 49 percent and the Sri Lanka government a majority of 51 percent in a container terminal in Colombo Port, President Gotabaya Rajajapaksa had said.

Sri Lanka’s East Container Terminal is vital to expand Colombo port which had reached capacity with the last terminal build by CM Ports of China now reaching capacity.

About a third of the East Terminal had already been built, but the balance is estimated to require an investment of around 600 million dollars.

The local agent of India’s Adani Group is a close friend of top government figures, Pubudu Jagoda, the member of the Frontline Socialist Party said, according to Sri Lankan media reports. 

“He is a close friend of the Rajapakse family, a friend who is close enough to attend their private family functions,” Jagoda claimed.