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Beijing's vast network of roads and road infrastructure has long aimed to connect China to countries across Asia and beyond, while India's economy is still in its infancy. is also launched in the fight to counter the influence of China.
But a political crisis triggered by the replacement of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe by President Maithripala Sirisena by Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was sacked by Parliament, has raised doubts about who can legitimately make decisions in the country.
Foreign countries have not yet recognized the new government and Wickremesinghe's party said that any decision of Rajapaksa's cabinet was illegal.
An official of Sri Lankan port authorities, run by the state, told Reuters that he had signed two contracts with Chinese companies worth more than $ 50 million on Thursday , after the agreements were approved by the disputed Rajapaksa government last week.
One of Rajapaksa's government ministers, speaking on condition of anonymity, also confirmed that the agreements had been approved by the cabinet, while documents seen by Reuters showed that the agreements would be approved at the meeting.
The contract is for a $ 32 million project to strengthen the capacity of the Jaya Container Terminal (JCT) managed by the state in Colombo with China Harbor Engineering Company, and to develop the project. another project worth $ 25.7 million for the purchase of three cranes at JCT Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. for the same project, according to the head of the authority of the ports.
Asked about the agreements, Rajitha Senaratne, former spokesman for the Wickremesinghe government, told Reuters:
"We will have to re-examine definitively, they do not have the legal authority to decide."
The head of the port authorities said that bids had been advertised in state-owned newspapers, as is the norm in Sri Lanka, and that they had been sent there a few months to a procurement committee.
India, which accounts for about 80 percent of Colombo's transshipment activities, said it is concerned about the growing number of Chinese projects in Colombo.
New Delhi had pushed Sri Lanka to award a contract valued at one billion dollars for the construction of a second container terminal in Colombo, operated by foreigners.
But this agreement was the subject of a dispute between Sirisena and Wickremesinghe just before his ouster, in which Sirisena reportedly said the country could no longer give its badets to foreigners.
Political instability and economic malaise have raised questions about Sri Lanka's ability to cope with a heavy external debt to finance reconstruction at the end of the civil war in 2009. It owes about 8 billions of dollars to China, including companies and banks related to the state data shows.
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