MRIA opens in the middle of nowhere to empty skies

A day out at Mattala, in sweltering heat, to witness the unveiling of a new airport. Namini Wijedasa reports from the site

Chinese and Sri Lankan flags fluttered side by side at the opening of Sri Lanka’s second international airport last week.

“China and Sri Lanka were traditional partners and good friends,” enthused Luo Fuhe, envoy of Chinese President Xi Jinping, punctuating each sentence with a benevolent smile. They were “brothers in one boat” and this relationship will endure well into the future.

Students and traditional drummers welcome the President and other VIPs
In the distance, the gleaming new control tower rose from the parched earth— a beacon to the four flights that landed at Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport that day (MRIA). The first of these, a SriLankan Airlines A340, had brought President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his entourage to the venue.

The airport is a swanky edifice. Its light marble floors contrast pleasingly with its dark wooden ceiling. There are plush red chairs in the seating area. The wall behind the check-in counters is painted with a bold, contemporary design. The buildings encircle a modern, landscaped garden with palms and a refreshing water feature. This lends it the air of an oasis in the desert.

The terminal even has piers with aerobridges, a facility that Katunayake International Airport only acquired in 2005. With a runway long enough for the world’s largest passenger aircraft to land on, MRIA—despite its outlying location—is well equipped.
The official ceremony lasted several hours because, sources said, the “speeches were much longer than expected”. Most spectators had arrived early in the morning. As mildness gave way to a sweltering heat, VIPs in their suits and saris shifted uneasily in their seats. Their discomfort was worsened by the fact that their 500ml bottles of water soon ran out.


Read full Article http://www.sundaytimes.lk/130324/new...ies-38236.html

The journalist...is a spineless moron...he talked about the water intake and availability as opposed to writing a piece that either praised or lambasted the new airport...the perfect example of journalism in Sri Lanka....pathetic

Correct!

As for the use of Sri Lankan Airlines to transport entourages is despicable...but its not the first country to do it and won't be the last, there a dozens of countries in the world that do it...they either own their own presidential airline or simply charter one of the national airline...

Plane delayed at Mattala - No Fuel

A Sri Lankan Airlines flight was held up at the newly opened Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport yesterday for more than one and half hours due to the bowser that supplies fuel arriving late.

The Riyadh-bound flight UL 273 took off from the Bandaranaike International Airport at noon, and landed at Mattala for refueling. Though the captain announced that the flight would be held up for only half an hour, the plane was kept for one and half hours.

According to informed sources, there had been a delay in bringing fuel to the airport. There are no facilities for storing aviation fuel at the airport. Fuel is brought to the airport from the tanks attached to the Hambantota port.



There are no facilities for storing aviation fuel at the airport.

For IATA, it is essential that airport planning and infrastructure development supports safe, functional, capacity balanced and user-friendly airports.

yeah; the reason I bought up public debt is due construction of MRIA it is build using commercial loans (at the rate 6%) borrowed from Chinese ExIm bank; and again this has nothing to do with Canada's public debt.

How can they gonna cater when many Aircrafts going to land there??

If you value other people opinion; you can expand your horizon...otherwise you can wear your blinders and run; Reporter just mention how people are bused in for the opening and given a run around.

I do value good journalism....whether it be positive or negative (an entirely negative piece on what a waste it was and so forth would have been honest journalism)....the only proper piece on the airport in the best Sunday Weekly in Sri Lanka was that article...thats just wrong....

Read the article it gives the following line...that answers who came and how they came....
Some came in vehicles arranged for them by local politicians, while a vast majority came at their own expense in their own transport- Canters, hand tractors, vans and minibuses.

This will be my last response to you...you try to cling on to any straw available; try to respect any reporters or anyone one opinion...it is called freedom of media and internet; that's what we enjoy in this part of the world. lets for second if I agreee with your theory of hambantota transhipment to work; it requires support of India; because 60%+ of transhipment traffic is for India. GOSL with the current pork barrel spending, antagonizing India and with the mentality of bull in the china shop attitude will only end up with broken glasses. I am sorry to say the ship has started to sink

More fuel issues expected...........

by then, oil would have been discovered and it would be pumped straight to the plane

BTW, SL is one of the few airports that is using bowsers, most of the countries, for safety and environmental reasons, having switched to Piped fuel lines.

What happened to this?



BTW the airport isn't bad. I'd say its a good thing. But the location couldve been better. IMHO if they wanted to use it as a transhipment hub with the port they shouldnt have built it 20km away (looks like it anyway on Google Maps). It shouldve been built as an integrated complex. That way they couldve directly connected it to the fuel tanks in the port as well.

This should be corrected as MRIA an not SL .

As I knows BIA has piped fuel lines connected with Kolonnawa or Sapugaskanda.Correct me if I m wrong.

I think fuel is going to be coming from here for now...but it's probably better to pipeline it straight (that's going to be a pretty big distance though) to the airport in the long run.....