
New Delhi: India is closely monitoring Sri Lanka's decision to offer foreign investors control of an airport near the China-controlled Hambantota port, as it could present a rare opening for Indian firms seeking strategic footholds in the Indian Ocean, people familiar with the matter said on Sunday.
The Sri Lankan government has already called for expressions of interest from domestic and international investors by June 9 to take control of the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA) in Hambantota under a 30-year build-operate-transfer (BOT) model.