The Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport in southern Sri Lanka will be handed over to a joint venture between Indian company Shaurya Aeronautics (Pvt) Ltd and Russia’s Airports of Regions for a 30-year management contract. The announcement was made by the country’s Aviation Minister, Nimal Siripala de Silva.
The airport, built in 2013 at a cost of $209 million, earned the nickname “world’s emptiest” due to its lack of flights. The project was financed by high-interest Chinese commercial loans.
Named after former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport was one of the island’s biggest infrastructure projects. Hambantota, where it’s located, is the hometown of the Rajapaksa family, who wielded significant power until the country’s unprecedented financial crisis in 2022.
Since 2016, the Sri Lankan government has been searching for commercial partners to manage the persistently loss-making airport.
