The Indian-Russian Partnership Is Going To Bring "World's Emptiest Airport" At Sri Lanka Back To Life.

An Indian-Russian consortium has secured a 30-year contract to manage Sri Lanka's underutilized Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport, aiming to revive the facility dubbed the "world's emptiest airport."

Colombo, Apr 26 2024- A joint venture between India and Russian companies has been awarded a 30-year management contract for the international airport in Mattala, Sri Lanka, located in the Hambantota region. This airport was once dubbed as "the world's emptiest airport" due to the lack of flights there, now the government has announced that the Indian-

The Sri Lankan Caucasian ministers agreed to hand over operations and management of the $209 million airport to Russia's Airports of Regions Management Company and Shaurya Aeronautics (Pvt) Ltd of India, according to the statement of government spokesman Bandula Gunawardena.

After an Expression of Interest that was posted in January, the committee, which was headed by the Cabinet, received 5 proposals, making the Indian-Russian consortium the selected one.

The airport which was named after ex-president Mahinda Rajapaksa was the largest infrastructure undertaken by the government during his tenure but the funds were borrowed from China using high interest and commercial loans. It took $209 m, $190 m of which came from the China Eximbank.

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Since its launching in 2013, there are problems of low number of passengers and flights operations. The Sri Lankan government had been looking for a business partner since 2016 to manage the facility and combat the financial losses faced by it.

The revival of the Mattala airport is widely perceived as a strategic move in the direction of building up the country's infrastructure and air connectivity. The Indian and Russian firms are with strong airport management skills, which are much needed if the airport is to turn its fortunes around. The airport sits on a strategic location but suffers a lot of debt.