Sri Lanka’s Hingurakgoda Airport runway set to finish by end-2026
The Morning: The new runway at Hingurakgoda Airport, initiated under the previous regime reportedly without a business plan, is forecast to be completed by the end of 2026 with a total investment of around Rs. 3 billion.
Speaking to The Sunday Morning Business, Deputy Minister of Ports and Civil Aviation Janitha Ruwan Kodithuwakku stated that when the incumbent Government took over, more than half of the runway had already been completed at an investment of approximately Rs. 1.6 billion.
He noted that despite the initiation of the project without a proper business plan by the previous regime, the Government had been compelled to continue the project to prevent the investments made so far from going to waste.
Accordingly, he revealed that the construction of the new runway is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.
“As it stands, there is no defined purpose for this project. We are currently exploring potential uses.
“If we had stopped at the point when roughly 60% of the cost had already been spent, the entire investment would have gone to waste. By completing the construction, we will at least have an underlying asset.
“Once it is finished, we can then evaluate and determine the possible ways it can be utilised,” he stated.
Accordingly, the Deputy Minister revealed that they had now commenced a feasibility study in respect of this project.
He further revealed that the project would cost the Government around Rs. 3 billion in total.
Responding to a query by The Sunday Morning Business regarding the motivation of the previous regime to construct the runway at Hingurakgoda Airport, Kodithuwakku revealed that, according to informal sources, the decision had been influenced by events during the anti-Government protests in 2022.
At that time, those in power were reportedly unable to access the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), and none of the Air Force airfields could accommodate short-haul passenger aircraft such as A320 flights.
The Deputy Minister stated that according to these informal sources, this had been the rationale behind the construction of the runway.
OSL take:
The steady growth in the number of foreign travelers visiting the country and the ongoing economic expansion have resulted in the further expansion of Sri Lanka’s airport and aviation industry. Apart from the increasing air traffic and ground handling, Sri Lanka’s positioning as an emerging business destination of the South Asian region have further expanded business/investment opportunities in the country’s airport and aviation industry, given the need to meet the increasing demand while also being on par with the fast-expanding global aviation industry. The Sri Lankan government had already launched several development programmes to uplift and expand the airport sector with an ongoing expansion programme at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) and several projects to develop and expand domestic airport to improve internal air connectivity. Also, there are programmes to uplift some domestic airports to the standard of regional airports. All these are indicative of the growing business potential as well as opportunities in Sri Lanka’s airport and aviation industry that presents lucrative ventures for foreign businesses/investors on the lookout for such in Sri Lanka.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/20260305/Z_1 |