Sri Lanka seeks buyers for white-elephant airport

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s government issued a call on Sunday for investments in a currently loss-making airport, after a 30-year lease agreement with an Indo-Russian joint venture had failed to take off.

Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport, built with Chinese loans near a wildlife sanctuary on the island’s southern coast, has no regular flights.

The small airport has failed to generate enough revenue to cover even electricity bills since opening in 2013, and has been a running sore on state coffers.

Calling for expressions of interest from investors, the government said the facility offers “untapped potential for growth opportunities… for exotic tourism development and strategic investment”.

Two years ago, the Sri Lankan government announced it had awarded a 30-year lease to a joint venture between India’s Shaurya Aeronautics and Russia’s Airports of Regions Management Company, but the plan never materialised.

The airport is named after former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, who borrowed heavily from China for infrastructure projects that quickly became commercial failures.