Soft opening of Sri Lanka’s Northern Palaly Airport on October 15th
A meeting of Sri Lanka’s aviation officials with the country’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Monday (26) has decided to hold the soft opening of Sri Lanka’s Northern Palaly Airport on October 15th.
Sri Lanka’s Civil Aviation Minister Arjuna Ranatunga, Foreign Minister Thilak Marapana and Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Parliamentarians Mavai Senathirajah and M.A. Sumanthiran were present at the meeting, a release issued by the Prime Minister’s Office has stated.
Officials present at the meeting have reportedly said that as much as 30% of the construction had been completed and a soft opening will be held on October 15th.
Minister Ranatunga has said the Palaly Airport is being upgraded at a cost of Rs. 22 billion and Customs, Immigration and warehousing facilities are also expected to set up at the airport.
According to reports, once completed, the strategically-located Palaly Airport will have the capacity to handle direct commercial flights to countries like India, Australia, China, Japan, Middle East nations, and several European countries.
Development of Sri Lanka’s Northern Province has been underscored as a top priority for the Sri Lankan government’s development agenda and it believes an international airport in the peninsula would boost the region’s economy significantly.
The airport will be developed in two stages: expansions of the runway and related facilities will be completed during the first phase, while permanent terminal buildings will be constructed during the second phase.
The extent of the Palaly runway will be expanded to 3,500 metres, and it will have the capability to handle large passenger aircraft such as the Airbus A320 and A321.
OSL take:
The opening of the Palaly Airport in Sri Lanka’s northern peninsula would result in the further strengthening of the country’s bilateral and trade ties with the South Asian region, especially India. Sri Lanka and India enjoy strong bilateral and trade ties that have been further boosted by a free trade agreement (FTA). Hence the Palaly Airport would boost trade as well as tourism ties Sri Lanka enjoys with India. Foreign businesses/investors could explore business/investment opportunities in Sri Lanka’s northern province, which will convert to a strong economy with the opening of the Palaly Airport. Also, foreign companies looking at doing business with India could look at setting up base in Sri Lanka to engage with India using the preferential treatment enjoyed by the island.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/29082019/Z_2 |