Announcement

**kennny15** · 28-04-2021, 09:59 AM

Parallel runway at BIA in the offing

A parallel runway which is well spaced from the existing runway at Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) will be constructed at an appropriate location, paving the way for independent and simultaneous operations of both runways, aiming at enhancing handling capacity, efficiency and productivity of aircraft movements of the international airport, according to the National Policy on Aviation.

This will be among several measures that will be taken for the development of airport infrastructure and to develop and maintain all existing and proposed domestic and international airports in Sri Lanka according to required standards and the foreseeable demand based on traffic forecasts.

It states that BIA will be promoted as a hub airport, whilst developing other local airports based on market demand.

The policy paper says that in the development of new airports or renovation or expansion of existing airports, the Government of Sri Lanka will ensure that systematic planning, designing, development, implementation, operation and maintenance will take place through close coordination and proper dialogue with the statutory service provider, Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Ltd. (AASL) and all other parties concerned.

It adds that the Government will work towards setting up and operating four regional airports covering the north, east, south and west of Sri Lanka with a view to improving connectivity both internally and externally.

Other than at domestic airports, which are exclusively used by the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) for security reasons, all domestic airports will be made available for joint civil/military use with clear segregation of civil and military activities. In this context, areas for civil and SLAF operations will be clearly separated and demarcated.

Allocating land in the civil area on long-term lease for prospective investors will be optional for the purpose of setting up and operating civil aviation infrastructure. In all civil/military joint airports, civil standards will be applied and maintained.

**A359** · 28-04-2021, 04:07 PM

The parallel runway at BIA has been talked about for decades with no concrete actions being taken so far. Even if started today, the project will take 5-10 years to complete, given that the entire airforce base will need to be relocated to allow sufficient spacing of the runways for simultaneous operations.

**kennny15** · 12-05-2021, 04:47 PM

Snail’s pace BIA expansion irks aviation industry

The snail’s pace expansion at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) is irking the aviation and tourism industry, with the delay also costing the Government dearly.

Dubbed the largest construction project of the Government, the BIA Terminal 2 development phase is being done at an extremely slow pace, with industry insiders alleging that the project, which began in December last year, has only progressed to 10% of the expected target after four months of work.

The two-part project consisting of ‘Package A’ and ‘Package B’ is funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Japan’s TAISEI holds the contract for this project.

The Government of Japan has provided a loan of Yen 74,397 million (Rs. 131.5 billion) for the project. The Airport and Aviation Services Company is spending Rs. 21.645 billion.

The cost of the ‘A’ package is Rs. 108 billion. At the time of the award, the contractor had promised to complete construction in three years.

Phase one of ‘Package A’ consists of constructing a new multilevel terminal building (Terminal 2) with an approximate floor area of 180,000 square metres, where arrivals and departures are separated vertically, Pier no. 2 and Pier no. 3 with a link concourse, new parking apron and taxiways, elevated access roads, passenger bridges, electricity, water supply and waste disposal system, combustion engines and integrated machinery, and a five-storey car park.

Under the second phase (package A) the machinery, access road, retention pond and storm water drainage system will be constructed, and about 80% of the development work has been completed up to now.

The estimated cost for this is Rs. 6 billion. Four-and-a-half months have elapsed since the beginning of phase one of this project, and according to the contract agreement 200 piles should have been installed by now. Sources said however that only 21 of them have been installed to date. According to the project proposal, 1,200 internal piles and 96 external piles need to be installed.

“It has become increasingly difficult to calculate the time taken for the completion of the project with such a disappointing start. In the contract it states that within the first month all obstacles for the project should be identified and necessary steps should be taken to overcome them. After four months an underground cable has been found and the constructions have been halted halfway,” sources allege.

The inordinate delay has exposed the project management expertise of TAISEI as well as the technical competence and capability of local sub-contractors used.

“Although 12 cranes are needed for initial constructions, only four are there at the construction site, and it is evident that the local contractor does not have the necessary strength to carry out this project,” sources claimed.

The aviation and tourism sectors were among the first to get attention in the economic aspect after the impact of COVID-19, given their ability to rebound faster once the pandemic eased.

“The Government must be commended for taking the necessary steps to broaden the country’s aviation resources amidst a pandemic. However, it is also the Government’s responsibility to get the projects done without undue delay,” sources opined.

**kennny15** · 12-05-2021, 04:47 PM

Construction projects at BIA to be expedited

The construction work on large-scale projects at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Katunayake is to be expedited, The Morning learnt. According to Minister of Tourism Prasanna Ranatunga, two large-scale projects are currently underway at the BIA.

One project concerns the construction of a second passenger terminal at the airport.

The Government of Japan has provided Japanese yen 41,553,891,286 for this purpose.

Meanwhile, the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) is spending Rs. 35,135,843,333 for this project.

Although the project was launched in 2014, construction work resumed in 2020 after the current Government came to power.

The construction of the new terminal will increase the annual passenger capacity of the airport to 15 million passengers, it is learnt. At present, the annual passenger capacity of said airport is six million.

The construction of the new terminal, which will have multi-storey car parks, a new airport lounge, a passenger lounge, and interconnected multimodal transport services, is expected to be completed in 36 months. The Minister also instructed the airport authorities to report to him on the progress of the construction, every two weeks.

The other construction is of a tarmac ramp to allow for the parking of aircraft and a taxiway, and it is scheduled to be completed in September this year.

A total of Japanese yen 1.1 billion and Rs. 4.4 billion has been spent on this project.

**kennny15** · 19-05-2021, 04:47 PM

Stalled BIA development commences amid COVID challenges

The construction activities of the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) Terminal 2 Development Project which were stalled has commenced despite the challenges of the COVID-19 global pandemic.

Airport & Aviation Services Sri Lanka (AASL) commenced the construction of the BIA terminal 2 in December 2020 and the construction activities are underway. The total cost of the project, comprising Construction Cost of Package A and Package B, Contingencies (10%) and Consultancy Services, is US$ 550 million and the funding is from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).There are few other matters and they too will be completed in less than two months and the project will start in June and complete in 2023 August increasing the present passenger handling capacity from 6.5 million to 15 million per annum,” said AASL Chairman G. A. Chandrasiri.

The construction work of the new terminal 2 commenced on December 15, 2020, and was expected to be completed in December 2023. “Project Management Unit, AASL together with the JV Japan Airport Consultants (JAC)/Nippon Koei Co., Ltd, the consultants of the project and TAISEI Corporation, Japan, the contractor are working towards the achievement of the objectives of the project.”

“The Contractor has been able to complete 94% of the work and the remaining Polymer Modified Asphalt overlaying will be completed within the next 4 months’ time. Once completed, 23 new aircraft parking bases will be added to the new terminal.”

Preliminary works and soil investigations for pile foundations have been completed. Clearing the areas for the main terminal building by root balling existing trees and replanting, hoarding for the construction area, boring and concreting of pile foundations for Main Terminal Building and viaduct (overhead entry and exit to the main terminal) are in progress.

“Since the development activities are taking place in an operational airport it requires special prior approvals by Aviation Authorities with operational impact, safety and security studies concerning the effect of construction activities on airport operations which are being carried out by the contractor and the project consultant,” the Chairman AASL said.

In addition to increased cargo capacity in line with other developments, the government will invest Rs. 2 billion to boost cargo capacity by 100%. This will help to increase the current Cargo Village capacity from 250,000 MTs to 500,000 MTs per annum.

Meanwhile, explaining the environmental aspects, AASL Director Aviation Projects/Director Aruna Warushahennadige said that the BIA Terminal 2 development project has a special program on ‘Tree Planting’ with a special focus on highly efficient Oxygen emitting trees such as mango and sandalwood.

“Because of this project, around 1,200 trees are affected. However, we are preserving 200 trees onsite and 300 trees are root balled. This program commenced on March 27, 2021.” (SS)

**Serendib** · 20-06-2021, 05:45 PM

Cinnamon Air Builds A New Hangar At BIA

https://island.lk/cinnamon-air-builds-a-new-hangar-at-bia/

**kennny15** · 26-06-2021, 06:03 PM

BIA - Airport Development | Guwan serisara 26 06 2021

**kennny15** · 14-07-2021, 12:24 PM

Measures to digitalize all airports in Sri Lanka - Tourism Minister

July 14, Colombo: Steps are being taken to digitalize all airports in the country Prasanna Ranatunga, Minister of Tourism said.

Special discussion in this regard was held at the Bandaranaike International Airport Tuesday (13) with the participation of Namal Rajapaksa, Minister of Youth & Sports and State Minister of Digital Technology and Enterprise Development, to review and explore the digitalization processes of Airport and Aviation Services Sri Lanka (AASL) and plan relevant projects.D. V. Chanaka, State Minister of Civil Aviation and Export Zones Development, Secretaries of respective ministries, AASL Chairman Major General (Rtd) G. A. Chandrasiri, Vice Chairman Rajiv Sooriyaarachchi, members of the Board of Directors and senior officials of AASL, Chairman of ICTA, and other experts participated in the meeting.A presentation was made by the Consultant Terminal 2, Head of IT, and the team elaborating the present and planned digitalization processes/ projects of AASL in the areas of Aeronautical Services, Airport Operations, and Business systems. In addition, the new projects planned to be implemented under the BIA Terminal-2 were also discussed.Smart Check-in", "e-Gates" and "All-in-One App" and "Web-based passenger assistance/information services" have been identified and pilot projects of those will be implemented by January 2022.It was decided at this meeting to complete the relevant pilot projects by January and accordingly to digitalize the new premises of the airport to be constructed under the Katunayake Airport Expansion Project. Discussions were held to develop the Katunayake and Mattala international airports as smart airports.The digitalization project is being implemented jointly by the Ministry of Tourism, the State Ministry of Civil Aviation and Export Zone Development and the Ministry of Digital Infrastructure.State Minister of Digital Technology and Enterprise Development together with ICTA will provide the necessary support services and monitoring of the project activities.Minister Namal Rajapaksa mentioned that under the government’s initiative of digitalization program, this project will bring benefit for all citizens and it would eventually facilitate developing smart airport features in the future.

**vishwa** · 15-10-2021, 03:50 AM

Guys.. is this disgusting.. (sorry i found Sinhalese one only)

ජර්මන් ගුවන් යානයක් රඳවාගැනීම නිසා ශ්‍රී ලංකා ගුවන් තොටුපළ ජාත්‍යන්තර අප්‍රසාදයට

ශ්‍රී ලංකාව නැවත වතාවක් සංචාරකයන් වෙනුවෙන් රට සම්පූර්ණයෙන්ම විවෘත කිරීමට සූදානම් වන මොහොතේ ඉදිරියට අවාසි සහගත ලෙස සංචාරක කර්මාන්තයට බලපෑ හැකි එකළඟ සිද්ධ වුණ සිදුවීම් කිහිපයක් වාර්තාවේ.
Readers Choice 2021 ශ්‍රේණිගත කිරීම්වල දී ලොව සංචාරය කළ හැකි හොඳම රටවල් 20 අතරට ශ්‍රී ලංකාවද පත්ව තිබුණේ මීට සතියකට පමණ පෙරය. ශ්‍රේණිගත කිරීම් සිදුකර පැය කිහිපයක් ඉක්ම යෑමටත් මත්තෙන් ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට පැමිණි ඇමරිකානු සංචාරකයකුට මෙරටදී සිදු වූ අපහසුතාවක් නිසා පැය 05කට පසු ආපසු රටින් පිටව යෑමට සිදුවීම වාර්තා විය.
ඊළඟට ජර්මන් ගුවන් යානයක් රඳවාගැනීම සම්බන්ධ සිදුවීමක් වාර්තාවේ.
දැඩි අයහපත් කාලගුණික තත්ත්වය මත කලාපයේ ගුවන් ගමන් මෙහෙයුම් සඳහා විටින් විට බාධා ඇති වූ අවස්ථාවක ජර්මනියේ ෆ්‍රැන්ක්ෆට් නගරයේ සිට මාලදිවයින දක්වා ගුවන් මගීන් 226 දෙනකු රැගෙන ගමන් ගනිමින් තිබූ ජර්මනියේ Condor Air ගුවන් සමාගමට අයත් බෝයිං 767 වර්ගයේ DE2320/26SEP දරන ගුවන් යානය ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ගුවන් කලාපයට ආසන්නව ගමන් ගනිමින් තිබිණි. එහි කපිතාන්වරයාට අණ ලැබුණේ මාලදිවයින අවට ගුවන් කලාපයේ ඒ වනවිට දැඩි සුළඟ හා කුණාටු තත්ත්වයක් වර්ධනය වී ඇති බැවින් එහි ගමන් නොකර වහාම ළඟම පිහිටි ගුවන් තොටුපළක් වෙත හදිසි ගොඩබෑමක් සිදු කරන ලෙසය.

ඒ අනුව ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ගුවන් පාලක මැදිරිය හා සම්බන්ධ වූ යානය දහවල් 11.25ට කටුනායක බණ්ඩාරනායක ගුවන් තොටුපළ වෙත හදිසි ගොඩබෑමක් (Emergency loading) සිදු කළේය. මෙවැනි ගොඩබෑමකදී එම අදාළ ගුවන් සමාගම වෙත නිශ්චිත කාලයක් ගුවන් තොටුපළ තුළ යානය නවතා තැබීමට අවසර ලැබෙන අතර ඒ සඳහා නිශ්චිත ගාස්තුවක් හා එම නිශ්චිත කාලය අභිභවා රැඳී සිටින්නේ නම් අමතර කාලයට අදාළව අමතර ගාස්තු ගෙවිය යුතුය. ඒ අනුව මෙම ගුවන් යානය සඳහා පස්වරු 2.00 දක්වා රැඳී සිටීමට අවසර ලැබුණු අතර ප.ව 1.00ට පමණ මාලදිවයින අවට ගුවන් කලාපය යහපත් වූයෙන් DE2320/26SEP දරන Condor Air ගුවන් යානය ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ සිට මාලදිවයින දක්වා ගමන් ආරම්භ කිරීමට සූදානම් විය.

මෙහිදී මෙම හදිසි ගොඩ බෑම සඳහා එම ගුවන් සමාගම විසින් ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ රජයට ගෙවිය යුතු වූ භූමි ගාස්තු හා නවතා තැබීමේ ගාස්තු (Loading & parking charges) සී/ස ගුවන් තොටුපළ හා ගුවන් සේවා සමාගමට(AASL)ගෙවිය යුතු විය. සාමාන්‍යයෙන් මෙවැනි අවස්ථාවකදී අදාළ ගුවන් සමාගමේ දේශීය නියෝජිත සමාගම මේ සඳහා ඉදිරිපත් වී අවශ්‍ය ගෙවීම් හා සම්බන්ධීකරණ කටයුතු සිදු කළද දැනට වසර 20කට ආසන්න කාලයක් තුළ Condor Air ගුවන් සමාගම ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට ගුවන් මෙහෙයුම් සිදු කර නොතිබූ බැවින් ඔවුන්ගේ දේශීය නියෝජිතයකු නොවීය.
එහෙත් මෙම හදිසි අවස්ථාවේ යුරෝපීය ජාතික සංචාරකයින් 226 දෙනකු හා ළදරුවන් දෙදෙනකුද සහිතව අසරණව සිටි විදේශීය ගුවන් සමාගම වෙනුවෙන් ආගන්තුක සත්කාර හා ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ප්‍රතිරූපය රැක ගැනීම වෙනුවෙන් ජාතික ගුවන් සේවය ලෙස ශ්‍රී ලන්කන් ගුවන් සමාගමේ කාර්ය මණ්ඩලයන් ස්වේච්ඡාවෙන්ම ඉදිරිපත් විය.

Condor Air ගුවන් සමාගම ශ්‍රී ලංකා රජයට ගෙවිය යුතු අදාළ ගාස්තු ගුවන් තොටුපළ හා ගුවන් සේවා සමාගම වෙත (AASL) ගෙවීම සඳහා අවශ්‍ය සම්බන්ධීකරණ කටයුතු වෙනුවෙන් ශ්‍රී ලන්කන් ගුවන් සමාගමේ කාර්ය මණ්ඩල සාමාජිකයකු යෙදවීම ඔවුන්ට මහත් සහනයක් විය. ඒ අනුව එම ගුවන් යානයේ ප්‍රධාන කාන්තා ගුවන් නියමුවරිය හා පළමු නිලධාරිවරයා අදාල ගාස්තු ගෙවීම සඳහා ගුවන් තොටුපළ වැඩබලන කළමනාකාරවරයාගේ (Duty Manager) කාර්යාලයට රැගෙන ආවද එම අවස්ථාවේ එහි සේවයේ යෙදී සිටි AASL නිලධාරිවරයා පවසා සිටියේ ඔවුන්ගේ ක්‍රෙඩිට් කාඩ් යන්ත්‍රයේ යම් ගැටලුවක් ඇති බැවින් සෘජු මුදල් ගෙවීමක් සිදු කරන ලෙසය. එහෙත් ඇ.ඩො. 740ක එම මුදල ගෙවීමට නෝට්ටු ඔවුන් සතුව නොතිබූ බැවින් ණය කාඩ්පත හරහා ගෙවීම හැර වෙනත් විකල්පයක් ඔවුන් වෙත නොවීය. එවිට එම නිලධාරිවරයා ගුවන් නියමුවරියගෙන් එම ණය කාඩ්පත ලබාගෙන කිහිප වරක් යන්ත්‍රය ක්‍රියාත්මක කළද ඵලක් නොවීය. ඔහු නැවත නැවත එම උත්සාහ කිරීම තුළ සැලකිය යුතු කාලයක් වැය වූ අතර එම ප්‍රමාදය විදේශීය ගුවන් නිලධාරීන්ට දැඩි අපහසුවක් විය.

ඒ, නියමිත කාලයට පෙර එනම් පස්වරු 2.00ට පෙර ගුවන් යානය කටුනායක ගුවන් තොටුපළින් පිටත් වීමට නොහැකි වුවහොත් අමතර ගාස්තු ගෙවීමක්ද සමග ජාත්‍යන්තර සිවිල් ගුවන් සේවා රෙගුලාසීන්ට අනුව ගුවන් කාර්ය මණ්ඩල සේවා සීමාවන් (Crew time limitation) ඉක්මවීමෙන් සේවයේ නියුතු කාර්ය මණ්ඩලයට පැය 12ක විවේකයක් ලබාදිය යුතු වන බැවිනි.කොළඹ සිට පැයක ගුවන් ගමනකින් මාලදිවයින වෙත යෑමට යහපත් කාලගුණ තත්වයක් උදා වී තිබුණ ද ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ගාස්තු ගෙවීමේ ප්‍රමාදය ඔවුන්ට විශාල ගැටලුවක් විය.

මේ සම්බන්ධයෙන් ශ්‍රීලන්කන් ගුවන් සමාගමේ කාර්ය මණ්ඩලය ගුවන් තොටුපළ හා ගුවන් සේවා සමාගමේ අදාළ ප්‍රධානීන් දැනුවත් කළද ක්ෂණික විසඳුමක් නොලැබුණු අතර ඔවුන් ප්‍රකාශ කරනු ලැබුවේ ගුවන් තොටුපළ Araliya lounge හි ඇති ණය කාඩ්පත් යන්ත්‍රය හරහා ගෙවන ලෙසය. ඒ අනුව එම විදේශීය ගුවන් කාර්ය මණ්ඩලය රැගෙන ශ්‍රීලන්කන් කාර්ය මණ්ඩල සමාජිකයා ඊට මඳක් දුරින් පිහිටි Araliya lounge වෙත පැමිණි අතර කනගාටුවට කරුණ වූයේ එහි ණය කාඩ්පත් යන්ත්‍රයද ක්‍රියා විරහිත බව එහි නිලධාරීන් ප්‍රකාශ කිරීමයි. එහිදී මහත් අසරණ වූ විදේශීය ගුවන් කාර්ය මණ්ඩලය තම පෞද්ගලික ණය කාඩ්පත ඉදිරිපත් කර හැකි නම් ඉන් මුදල් අඩුකර ගන්නා ලෙස දැන්වීය.

එයද අසාර්ථක වූයෙන් ඔවුන් ප්‍රකාශ කරනු ලැබුවේ ගුවන් තොටුපළ මගී පර්යන්තය ඉදිරිපිට පිහිටි "Silk Route" කාර්යාලයේ ණය කාඩ්පත් යන්ත්‍රයක් ඇති බැවින් එහි ගොස් ගෙවීම් කරන ලෙසය. නැවත මීටර් 500කට ආසන්න දුරක් ගෙවා Silk Route වෙත පැමිණ එම ගෙවීම සිදුකරන විට ප.ව. 2. 15 පමණ වූ අතර මෙම සරල කාර්යය සඳහා පස්වරු 12.30 සිට 02.15 දක්වා පැයකුත් විනාඩි 45ක කාලයක් වැය කිරීමට විදේශීය ගුවන් කාර්ය මණ්ඩලයන්ට සිදුවිය.
එහෙත් විශේෂිත හා කනගාටුදායක කාරණාව වන්නේ මෙම අදාළ සියලු ගෙවීම් සිදුකර ගුවන් කාර්ය මණ්ඩලයන් ගුවන් යානයට පිවිස පිටත්වීමට සූදානම් වන විට අවසන් මොහොතේ සිදුවූ ප්‍රමාදයට අදාළව තවත් ඇ.ඩො. 48ක මුදලක් ගෙවිය යුතු බව ගුවන්තොටුපළ හා ගුවන් සේවා සමාගමේ බලධාරීන් Condor Air ගුවන් සමාගමට දැනුම් දීමයි. එම අය කිරීම ඉතාමත් අසාධාරණ වන්නේ,එම අවසන් ප්‍රමාදයට හේතු වූයේ ගුවන්තොටුපළ හා ගුවන් සේවා සමාගමේ අකාර්යක්ෂමභාවය හා අක්‍රමවත්භාවය හේතුවෙන් වීමයි.

ඒ වනවිටත් ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ගුවන් තොටුපළ සේවාව සම්බන්ධයෙන් දැඩි කළකිරීමකින් පසු වූ විදේශීය ගුවන් කාර්ය මණ්ඩලය මෙම දැනුම් දීමෙන් පසු දැඩි ලෙස කලකිරීමටත් කෝපයටත් පත්ව 228ක් වූ තම ගුවන් මගීන් වෙත නිවේදනයක් (Onboard Announcement) මගින් දැනුම් දෙනු ලැබුවේ ශ්‍රී ලංකා රජය මගින් ඇමරිකානු ඩොලර් 48ක මුදලකට අපට රඳවා ගෙන ඇති බවයි. "The Government of Sri Lanka grounded our Aircraft for 48 US dollars." මෙම සිදුවීමෙන් පසු එම ගුවන් කාර්ය මණ්ඩලයේ සේවා සීමාවන්ද (Crew time limitation) ඉක්ම වූ බැවින් සියලු ගුවන් මගීන් ගුවන් යානයෙන් බස්සවා මගී පර්යන්තය වෙත යැව්වද හැකි ඉක්මනින් ශ්‍රී ලංකාවෙන් පිටත් වීමට ඔවුන්ට අවශ්‍ය විය. ඒ අනුව ඒ වනවිට මාලදිවයිනේ විවේක ගනිමින් සිටි Condor Air කාර්ය මණ්ඩලය මාලදිවයිනේ සිට හැකි ඉක්මනින් එමිරේට්ස් ගුවන් යානයකින් කොළඹට ගෙන්වා ගෙන එදිනම සවස 8.15ට මාලදිවයින බලා පිටත් වූයේ ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ගුවන් තොටුපළ සේවාව පිළිබඳ දැඩි කලකිරීමකිනි.

මෙම සිදුවීම ශ්‍රී ලංකාව ජාත්‍යන්තරව දැඩි අප්‍රසාදයට පත්වීමක් මෙන්ම ඉදිරියේදී එය සංචාරක ව්‍යාපාරයට දැඩි බලපෑමක් එල්ල කරනු ඇත්තේ ජර්මනිය යනු ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට වඩාත් ආකර්ෂණීය වූ සංචාරක වෙළෙඳ පොළක් බැවිනි.

(ඉන්දික ශ්‍රී අරවින්ද)

NOTE: in summary, we have kept Condor airliner around 9 hrs for not being able to accept the credit card payment.. i wonder an airport which is not ready to accept a cc payment for an airliner.. how we are targeting to be a hub... or accepting emergency landings..

**WDR** · 15-10-2021, 04:40 AM

Social media rant investigated

Sri Lanka Tourism ensures trade service standards

Sri Lanka Tourism on inquiring deeply into, the widely circulated YouTube video by a US Tourist, claiming that his pre-booked rental vehicle not being available on arrival at the Bandaranaike International Airport led him in frustration to cancel his tour of the Island and return to Istanbul, finds that the passenger didn’t make any effort to contact the car rental company on arrival in Sri Lanka.

Recognizing the importance of ensuring that every single visitor to the country is warmly welcomed and treated to the high standards of visitor expectations and leave with memorable experiences that Sri Lanka Tourism is proud of, an in-depth inquiry was carried out. In a detailed report from the car rental company it is stated that the booking for transportation had been made via a third-party website and was in fact for the 6th of October 2021 and not the 7th of October 2021, on which date Mr. George, the tourist, arrived in the country. The inquiry revealed that the car rental company had sent a representative who had spent the day within the airport on 6th October, awaiting the traveller and had gone back to the base station which is located just 5 minutes from the airport terminal.

Tourism industry veterans find it strange that a visitor fluent in English, on arrival, did not contact the car rental company, from which he had booked transport which also has a vehicle station within five minutes from the airport terminal, and request for an alternative vehicle or in any other way try to request assistance from within the airport. The visitor also had the opportunity to speak to any one of the staff of the car rental companies, that have counters that are manned 24 hours, for the convenience of visitors arriving without prearranged transport and who would have gladly assisted him to proceed to his chosen accommodation and location. The irony is this visitor seems to be a seasoned traveller coming from San Francisco via Mexico City, Cancun, Istanbul and Maldives to Sri Lanka.

Nevertheless, Sri Lanka Tourism has taken due note of this complaint and urges industry partners and stakeholders of the importance of keeping their teams refreshed on service standards and work ethic that we must always deliver to, both local and foreign, travellers an experience that is in keeping with their expectations.

On 1st October Sri Lanka Tourism announced a relaxed, bubble free experience for fully vaccinated travellers arriving in the country with a negative PCR test taken 72 hours prior to embarkation. It was also announced that unvaccinated children travelling with vaccinated parents below the age of 12 years will not require an on-arrival PCR test. This ease in protocols has created a surge in interest in Sri Lanka as a destination of choice which has resulted in an increase in arrivals.

Sri Lanka Tourism is committed to creating an environment where travellers leave with memorable experiences yearning to return to the Island. Now the country is open to international visitors with all industry stakeholders poised and ready to welcome travellers to Sri Lanka — a destination long known as a treasure trove of possibilities waiting to be discovered.

(Sri Lanka Tourism)

https://island.lk/social-media-rant-investigated/

**WDR** · 25-11-2021, 01:52 AM

PM inaugurates BIA’s expansion project tomorrow

The second stage of the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) expansion project increasing the airport’s passenger handling capacity to 15 million annually will be launched by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa tomorrow (November 25).

The BIA expansion project will be constructed in two parts, “Package A” and “Package B” funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and is the second-largest development project currently implemented in Sri Lanka.

Under Package B, new Apron and Taxiways have been constructed at the BIA. Project B will stretch across 210 square metres and provide 23 additional parking spaces (aprons) for aircraft using the facility.

Once the ‘Package-B’ development is completed, it will facilitate the upcoming ‘Package A’(Passenger Terminal Building and associated works under BIA expansion project (Phase 11 Stage 2 Project) development programme of the main gateway.

Works also include the improvements such as machinery, retention pond and stormwater drainage system and access road. Rs.6 billion has been spent for Package B. Package A which was inaugurated by then President Mahinda Rajapaksa in 2014 was neglected by the former Yahapalanaya regime. However, work on Package A was recommenced while work on Package B was expedited once the government came into power in 2019.

It is expected that world-renowned airlines will begin to increase frequencies to BIA while airline operations will rise dramatically once the whole project is completed in 2023.

The project has incorporated Japanese advanced technology and expertise to enable the building to provide barrier-free access and environmentally friendly features beneficial for both the people and nature.

PM inaugurates BIA’s expansion project tomorrow

http://www.dailynews.lk/2021/11/24/local/265504/pm-inaugurates-bia%E2%80%99s-expansion-project-tomorrow

The second stage of the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) expansion project increasing the airport’s passenger handling capacity to 15 million annually will be launched by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa tomorrow (November 25). The BIA expansion project will be constructed in two parts, “Package A” and “Package B” funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and is the second largest development project currently implemnted in Sri Lanka.

**Serendib** · 10-01-2023, 06:11 PM

Sri Lanka to launch mega business center at southern international airport to attract investors
Xinhua · china.org.cn | January 10, 2023
Sri Lanka to launch mega business center at southern international airport to attract investors
COLOMBO, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's cabinet of ministers have agreed to transform an international airport on the southern coast into a multipurpose business center by implementing business opportunities related to air and non-air operations, a cabinet spokesman said Tuesday.

The Mattala international airport had the potential to be converted into a business center for foreign investors and therefore measures would be taken to effectively utilize the international airport facilities and assets to create private and public partnership investment opportunities, Government spokesman Bandula Gunawardena said.

A proposal by Minister of Ports, Shipping and Aviation Nimal Siripala de Silva to call for expressions of interest from investors in aviation-related enterprises was approved by the cabinet, Gunawardena said.

The Sri Lankan government has offered a number of concessions for flights willing to land at Mattala and the airport resumed international flight operation last month after a lapse of two years. Enditem

**Serendib** · 09-03-2023, 07:20 AM

Taisei fully exits Terminal II

Japan’s Taisei Corporation, the contractor of the Terminal II project of the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), has decided to terminate its contract before the end of the time period extended to it by the Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Ltd.

Taisei fully exits Terminal II

https://www.themorning.lk/articles/N5ZfA5jVWx8jQsmdiVPZ

Japan’s Taisei Corporation, the contractor of the Terminal II project of the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), has decided to terminate its contract before the end of the time period extended to it by the Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Ltd. (AASL) to inform of its decision.

**banuthev** · 10-03-2023, 06:41 AM

IMF bailout to help to resume Colombo Airport expansion

Economics
IMF Sri Lanka Bailout to Help Revive $1.6 Billion Japan Projects
Bankrupt nation looking to recover from worst economic crisis
IMF board will vote on March 20 after China backed debt recast
ByAnusha Ondaatjie and Asantha Sirimanne+Follow
9 March 2023 at 09:26 GMT
The International Monetary Fund’s anticipated endorsement of Sri Lanka’s reforms and debt restructuring is expected to unlock funding of about 220 billion yen ($1.6 billion) for projects suspended by Japan, people familiar with the matter said.

IMF board approval, when it arrives, should help convince the Japanese government to restart several projects that are in different stages of completion, the people said, asking not to be named as the information is not public. The projects involve a 74 billion yen upgrade to the South Asian island’s main international airport

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...japan-projects

**88gee** · 11-03-2023, 11:13 PM

Originally posted by banuthev View Post

IMF bailout to help to resume Colombo Airport expansion

are they going to use IMF money on projects now ?

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