By: Vibhuti Pathak
The White Elephant Airport, aka Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA), located in the town of Mattala, which was built from a Chinese loan, has been handed over to Indian and Russian companies.
The decision has been made considering the nation’s bankrupt government seeks to offload loss-making assets. The small airport near a wildlife sanctuary on the southern coast opened in 2013 but was immediately plagued by problems, and has been incurring losses.
Government spokesman Bandula Gunawardana told reporters the airport’s management will be handed over to Shaurya Aeronautics Pvt. Ltd. of India and Airports of Region Management Company of Russia for the next 30 years. The cabinet meeting did not disclose the deal value.
The airport, which is named after former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, has sparked controversy due to its low number of flights, environmentally sensitive location, and persistent financial losses. Rajapaksa, who had borrowed heavily from China for infrastructure projects, quickly became a commercial failure. Since receiving an International Monetary Fund bailout last year, the government has sought to privatise a host of loss-making state-owned enterprises.
Most importantly, the airport has also been considered an environmentally sensitive location. The airport is in the middle of a migratory route for birds, with several aircraft forced to the ground after striking airborne fowl.
Unfortunately, the airport, built on a Chinese lease, stopped operating after Rajapaksa was defeated in the 2015 presidential election. Since then, as per the company’s statement, it has saved 18 million annually by not flying to the isolated airport.
Flydubai quit in June 2018 without giving a reason, but officials said poor passenger traffic may have spurred the budget carrier to leave.
Debts to China are partly blamed for an unprecedented financial crisis that prompted Sri Lanka to default on its £36 billion foreign debt in 2023. In 2017, unable to repay a huge Chinese loan, Sri Lanka allowed China Merchants Port Holdings to take over a nearby port at Hambantota.
The deal, which gave the Chinese company a 99-year lease, raised fears about Beijing’s use of “debt traps” in exerting its influence abroad.
(With inputs from AFP)
