The government has launched a Rs. 15 billion project to renovate Terminal 1 at Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake, funded entirely from domestic state allocations without recourse to foreign loans, in a long-term effort to ease congestion at Sri Lanka’s main international gateway.
Deputy Minister of Civil Aviation Janitha Ruwan Kodithuwakku said the upgrade was necessary to handle the surge in tourist arrivals, as construction of the long-delayed second terminal under Japanese assistance may take several more years, Newswire reported.
To provide immediate relief, a temporary marquee has already been set up with private-sector support, adding 14 check-in counters and enabling the airport to handle an additional 10 to 20 flights a day. The Terminal 1 plan involves expansion of the departure hall, reduction of security and immigration queues, redesign of the arrivals section and modernisation of baggage handling.
Once the works are complete, Terminal 1’s annual passenger capacity is expected to rise from the present 6 million — currently stretched to handle close to 10 million passengers a year — to 15 million.
The renovation runs in parallel with the Japanese-assisted second terminal project, which the Ports Ministry said in June would restart in November under a 75 billion-yen JICA loan after years of delays. Together, the two projects aim to give Sri Lanka the long-term airport capacity it needs to support continued tourism growth.
Pressure on BIA has built up alongside the broader rebound in arrivals. Sri Lanka welcomed more than one million visitors in the first 148 days of 2026 according to SLTDA data, with the industry now targeting around three million arrivals for the full year. Total arrivals had earlier crossed 800,000 by mid-April, though the pace of growth slowed materially in March.
Cabinet did not disclose a detailed construction timeline or a target completion date for the Terminal 1 works.
Update — June 16: Departure terminal Rs. 6.7 billion sub-component detailed
The Ministry of Ports and Civil Aviation later disclosed further technical details, Ada Derana reported. The departure terminal alone will be expanded by around 1,700 square metres at an estimated cost of Rs. 6.7 billion as part of the wider Rs. 15 billion plan.
Immigration counters at the arrival terminal will be raised from 28 to 40, with four e-gates installed. The departure terminal will receive 36 new check-in counters and six remote boarding gates, taking total check-in counters from 60 to 74. The arrival terminal will also be redesigned to bring it in line with modern international airport standards.
The ministry said this initial phase is expected to add around 500,000 passengers a year to BIA’s handling capacity, with the key phases targeted for completion between 2026 and 2027 — the first detailed timeline for the upgrade.
