Sri Lanka’s Civil Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva has told parliament today that Airport Authority of India has been requested to submit its business plan for operating the loss-making Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA) in Hambantota in the deep south.
The Minister has disclosed this in response to a question from the joint opposition which charges that the government is selling the Airport built with high interest commercial loans from China to India.
Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said the Airport Authority of India (AAI) and Sri Lanka’s Civil Aviation Authority will enter into a 70-30 joint venture agreement to operate the airport. He stressed that this is a joint venture and not a sell-out. He said the opposition do not have to fear. “India will not come and take it (the airport) away,” the Minister said.
The Minister explained that there are several pre conditions to the agreement with the AAI. “We will not change those. The first condition is that the Indian authority has to pay 70 percent of the government assessed value of the airport. The second is this is only a commercial transaction. We will not let this airport to be used for any military purposes or for any foreign military aircraft.”
Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said the government has requested the AAI to submit its business plan indicating how many aircraft they can bring and the methods of operation.
He stressed that the said the agreement will be submitted to Parliament before the signing.
The idling Airport dubbed as ‘world’s emptiest airport’ was constructed with a US$ 190 million loan from the China Exim Bank and US$ 40 million from the China Harbor Engineering Company while the Sri Lankan government spent US$22 million.
Fly Dubai, the only airline that was flying to the MRIA recently terminated its operations to the facility built at a cost of US$ 210 million by the previous regime.
The MRIA was running at a major loss of Rs. 20 billion annually, according to Minister of Civil Aviation.
The joint venture would be a win-win situation for both parties because the profits as well as the losses will be shared by the parties at a ratio of 70 to 30, according to the government.
Courtesy: Colombo Page
