Mattala Airport:

A new chapter in economic development

by Gamini WARUSHAMANA

Sri Lanka's second international airport in Mattala to be opened tomorrow will attract overflying Airbus A380 aircraft and earn navigation fees, officials said.

Aircraft flying over Sri Lanka from Dubai to Sydney is one of the targets.The Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport with a 3,500-metre long and 60-metre wide runway, and 7.5-metre shoulders has been designated ‘Code F’ by the International Civil Aviation Organisation and could handle Airbus A380 aircraft.

The Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport with a 3,500-metre long and 60-metre-wide runway with 7.5-metre shoulders has been designated ‘Code F’ by the International Civil Aviation Organisation and could handle Airbus A380 aircraft

State-owned SriLankan Airlines and Mihin Air and Air Arabia will be among the first to commence operations at the Mattala airport. Officials also expect to draw courier airlines and negotiations will commence with UPS, Fedex and DHL.Mattala international airport will also be an option for airlines that fly to destinations in the African continent. The new airport with hangars for aircraft repairs and maintenance will be an attractive place for airlines.

The airport could handle one million passengers and 45,000 metric tonnes of cargo. In the second stage it could be expanded to five million passengers and 150,000 metric tonnes of cargo.Sri Lankan entrepreneurs said that the new airport marks the beginning of a new chapter in Sri Lanka's economic development.

Heladiv Group, Chairman Rohan Fernando said that setting up a second international airport will boost the regional economy and accelerate development.A second airport was a long-felt need that has been fulfilled and it will provide a large number of jobs for people in the area. It will provide easy access for those in the South to travel abroad and also facilitate trade in the area.

“The government should develop infrastructure which is essential to fast track economic growth. The construction of ports and airports will boost the country's hub status,” Fernando said.Leading corporate personalities also commended the project as a viable move to expedite growth. The Southern highway and road development in the country will go hand-in-hand with the airport development to facilitate transportation.

The president of the National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka, Ashoka Hettigoda said that opening the second international airport clearly indicates that the country is reaching developed-nation status.

This also indicates the government's commitment to reduce regional disparity and develop all parts of the country.UNOPS Head of National Portfolio Development, Rohantha Athukorala said, “Ideally we should have done the business mapping before the construction of a piece of infrastructure so that the alliances are discussed with the probable business partners and a detail ROI (Return On Investment) done.”

“But now that the product is already available the best option is make tough decisions like what Memphis did in the Mid West of USA and linked up with FedEx,” he said. Athukorala who has worked at the Memphis location when he was studying in the US, said that many people laughed when the Memphis airport was being built but when FedEx decided set up a office in the airport vicinity where 297 cargo planes land and take off between midnight and 5 am daily, it became the single biggest employer in Memphis. Sri Lanka must pursue this option with a Sri Lankan touch, he said.