Adani opts out of US funding for its Colombo Port project

PTI New Delhi: Billionaire Gautam Adani's group has pulled out of a loan deal with a US agency to fund a port terminal in Sri Lanka, saying it will use its own resources for the project. In an exchange filing late on Tuesday, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) said the project "is on track for commissioning by early next year". "The project will be financed through the company's internal accruals and capital management plan," the firm said.

"We have withdrawn our request for financing from the International Development Finance Corporation (DFC)". The US IDF had in November last year agreed to provide a USD 553 million loan to support the development, construction, and operation of a deep-water container terminal called the Colombo West International Terminal (CWIT) at the Port of Colombo in Sri Lanka.

The CWIT is being developed by a consortium of Adani Ports, Sri Lankan conglomerate John Keells Holdings Plc, and the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA). DFC financing was part of the US government's broader efforts to counter China's growing influence in the region and was seen as an endorsement of Adani's ability to develop worldclass infrastructure.