India watching Lanka’s offer to investors over airport at strategic site

India is monitoring Sri Lanka's offer of the Hambantota airport to foreign investors, due to concerns about Chinese influence after previous debt issues with infrastructure projects. The Sri Lankan government has sought expressions of interest from domestic and international investors to take over the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport under a 30-year build-operate-transfer model. The airport, built at a cost of $209 million, including $190 million in loans from China's Export-Import Bank, has struggled to attract airline interest and passenger volumes, registering losses of nearly $130 million.