China Harbour Engineering LLC (CHEC) plans to hire about 2,000 Sri Lankan workers for the expansion of Dubai’s Al Maktoum International Airport, following discussions with officials at the Sri Lankan Consulate in Dubai.
The Consulate General of Sri Lanka in Dubai and the Northern Emirates said CHEC’s human resources manager met Consul General Alexi Gunasekera, Head of Chancery Subhashini Silva, and Counsellor (Employment and Welfare) Manorie Vithanapathirana to outline the recruitment plan. Talks focused on skilled and semi-skilled categories.
The Al Maktoum International Airport expansion, one of Dubai’s largest infrastructure projects, is expected to transform the facility into one of the world’s largest aviation hubs, with major construction work planned over the coming years.
A boost for outbound labour
The Consulate said the initiative is expected to create significant overseas employment for Sri Lankan workers while strengthening labour ties between Sri Lanka and the UAE.
The hiring pipeline follows months of policy attention to outbound labour migration, including the new inbound labour migration framework approved in May and the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment’s increasing scrutiny of unlicensed agents and recruitment scams targeting prospective migrants.
CHEC is the international engineering and construction arm of China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), and operates across Gulf infrastructure projects alongside its established Sri Lanka footprint, which includes the Colombo Port City and the Hambantota harbour development.
