Sri Lankan government approves construction of new cargo terminal at Bandaranaike International Airport
The government of Sri Lanka has reportedly granted approval to construct a new cargo terminal worth Rs. 3 billion in the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in order to accommodate the growing demand for the facility.
The new facility will be constructed over a two-year period utilising funds from the Airport and Aviation Services Sri Lanka (AASL), Chairman Dammika Ranatunga has told Daily FT.
The terminal will have the capacity to handle 150 million metric tonnes per year after the facility is completed.
The budgetary allocations have already taken place, and the expenses are spread over a time period as the project will be done in stages, Ranatunga has told the media.
Presenting the Cabinet paper, Transport and Civil Aviation Minister Arjuna Ranatunga has informed the Cabinet of Ministers that over 280 million metric tonnes of cargo was processed through the BIA in 2018.
Cargo handling operations at the airport have grown by an annual increase of 8% year-on-year, the Government Information Department statement on Cabinet decisions has stated.
However, capacity restraints in the BIA facility is currently causing severe traffic congestion in the Cargo Zone, the statement has noted.
Therefore, the Cabinet has granted approval to proceed with procurement activities for the construction of an Additional Cargo Terminal at the BIA.
The AASL had last year decided to construct an interim terminal building at BIA dedicated to departure passengers with a total capacity of 2.5 million per year as per forecasts in passenger growth.
OSL take:
The government of Sri Lanka is engaged in a programme to uplift the country’s aviation industry on the whole. The move to establish an interim terminal building and a new cargo terminal at the BIA is part of the development programme of the aviation industry. Foreign companies looking at business ventures in Sri Lanka could explore business/investment opportunities in Sri Lanka’s aviation sector.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/13052019/Z_1 |