Companies from China, India and Oman are among those bidding to operate Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport, Ports, Aviation and Energy Minister Anura Karunatilake has confirmed.
Asked by Daily Mirror whether Chinese and Indian firms were among the parties that had submitted investment proposals, the minister said they were, and added that proposals had also come from Oman. It is the first ministerial confirmation of where the bidders are from since submissions closed.
Nineteen proposals have been received and are under evaluation, the paper reported.
A long-running search for an operator
The government called for Expressions of Interest to operate the Hambantota District airport, with a Cabinet-appointed committee tasked with negotiating terms with prospective domestic and foreign investors.
The submission deadline was originally set for June 8 and then extended by a month to July 9 at the committee’s request, with proposals to remain valid until November 5. By early June, 47 parties had obtained the EOI documents.
Why the airport matters
Mattala was built with a loan of nearly $200 million from China during the presidency of Mahinda Rajapaksa and opened in 2013. Persistently low traffic earned it a reputation as one of the world’s emptiest international airports, and successive governments have sought an outside operator to make use of the facility.
The mix of bidders places the airport in the same category as other Sri Lankan infrastructure assets that have drawn competing interest from regional powers. No shortlist has been announced, and the government has not said when the evaluation will conclude or on what terms an operator would be appointed.
Sources: Daily Mirror.
