China firms to invest in Sri Lanka port project

[SHANGHAI] Two of China's largest port operators and engineering firms have agreed to invest in a US$601 million terminal in Sri Lanka's Hambantota port, part of a series of deals signed during a visit by President Xi Jinping to the island nation.

Keen to establish its presence in the Indian Ocean, China has spent millions of dollars building ports and roads across the region in a strategy dubbed the String of Pearls.

China Merchants Holdings said in a statement late on Tuesday that it and China Harbour Engineering Company (Chec), a subsidiary of China Communications Construction Group, had entered a joint venture with the Sri Lanka Ports Authority to develop and operate a container terminal for the Hambantota Port Development.