China eyes to rebuild north Lanka to boost influence near India

In April, state-run China Railway Beijing Engineering Group won a more than $300 million project to build 40,000 houses in the northern district of Jaffna

China wants to build houses and roads in Sri Lanka’s north, much of which is in a state of disrepair nearly a decade after the end of civil war, Chinese and Sri Lankan officials said, in a bid to expand it influence beyond the island’s south.
 
China’s latest push in the Indian Ocean island nation comes despite criticism that a big Chinese port project and related infrastructure in the south are dragging the country of 21 million people deep into debt.
 
Luo Chong, chief of the political section at China’s embassy in Colombo, said China wanted to help