The Ministry of Ports and Civil Aviation has invited global investors to submit Expressions of Interest (EOI) for aviation investment opportunities at the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA), the Ada Derana news service reported on Sunday.
It is the first formal EOI invitation publicly disclosed for the Hambantota-district airport, long described as a “white elephant” because of years of low traffic and high debt-service costs since it opened in 2013. The country’s southern second international gateway has more recently emerged as a possible regional alternative for diverted flights, and was used for returning the bodies of Iranian sailors killed in the IRIS Dena sinking in March.
The Ministry, headed by Anura Karunathilake, did not in the announcement specify the structure of the EOI, the bid timeline, or whether the call covers terminal services, cargo, or maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) operations.
MRIA traffic has gradually picked up over the past year, with two new winter carriers commencing direct flights in October 2025 and a Cabinet decision in October 2025 to extend the airport’s deviation tax exemption until 2027. An analyst proposal to position MRIA as an alternative hub for major Gulf carriers was reported in March 2026.
The EOI launch comes amid broader government efforts to revive non-performing infrastructure assets and attract private capital into transport, after a programme of state-asset reviews under the IMF Extended Fund Facility.
