Construction of the long delayed interim departure terminal at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) is unlikely to be set up at least till March, 2019.

The Sunday Morning Business*reliably learns that a Fundamental Rights application filed by Maga Engineering (Pvt.) Ltd. is set to be taken up next at the Supreme Court on 28 February, 2019, and until that, construction will not commence.

Maga – one of the six companies which bid for the construction of the interim terminal – scored the highest points in the evaluation, and was recommended by the Standing Cabinet Appointed Procurement Committee to be awarded the project.

However, on an appeal by the China State Construction Engineering Cooperation, the Procurement Appeal Board overturned this decision and awarded it to the Chinese company, which subsequently received Cabinet approval.

Following the awarding of the project to the China State Construction Engineering Cooperation and the Cabinet approval, Maga appealed to the Supreme Court.

An interim terminal to facilitate two million departing passengers was first announced in November, 2017, as the existing terminal handles approximately 10 million passengers per year, even though it was designed to handle only six million.

The interim terminal itself was a result of the delay in constructing a permanent terminal, which was deferred as the bids from the Japanese companies were far higher than the engineer estimate.

The $ 19 million interim terminal project was set to take off when the Cabinet of Ministers gave approval for it to be awarded to China State Construction Engineering Cooperation on 3 October. However, due to the appeal by Maga, no work has been commenced.

Secretary to the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation G.S. Withanage, speaking to*The Sunday Morning Business, explained the tender process.

“Whatever the recommendations made by the Cabinet-appointed Tender Board, we have to inform the unsuccessful bidders. An unsuccessful bidder may be in a position to appeal the decisions or recommendations made by the Tender Board to the Procurement Appeal Board. Then, the Procurement Appeal Board goes to the Presidential Appeal Board. Until then, we can’t award a project.”

When contacted an official from Maga, a comment was refused to be given on this issue, as it was an ongoing case.

The BIA has more than 170 aircraft movements per day, including an average of more than 60 movements of heavy aircraft per day. The capacity crunch caused by a six-million-passenger terminal handling 10 million passengers results in hours of delays – particularly as passengers try to collect their baggage.

According to the 2017 annual report of the Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Ltd., the airport experiences heavy congestion in both arrival and departure zones, as well as vehicular traffic – particularly during peak hours.

However,*The Sunday Morning Business*reliably learns that an apron with more than 23 parking bases is under construction, bringing the total number of parking bases to 48.
The construction work is expected to be completed by the end of 2019.

Likewise, other expansion activities including the expansion of the lounge area, relocation of the immigration office, rearrangement of electronic shopping stores, and walkways management are being carried out at the BIA.

The permanent terminal was to be built with funding from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and one of the main conditions of the agreement was that the construction would be given to a Japanese company. However, both Japanese bidders had quoted far higher than the engineer estimate, with the lowest bid reported to have been 45% higher, and the other 96% higher.

As JICA refused to reconsider the funding condition, the subsequent negotiations failed, which compelled the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation to resort to building an interim terminal.

SriLankan Airlines, in partnership with immersive entertainment specialist SkyLights, yesterday unveiled a new Virtual Reality (VR) cinema at its Business Class lounge.

Installed in the Serendib lounge at Bandaranaike International Airport, SkyLights’ Allosky and Skykids cinematic VR headsets offer passengers the unique opportunity to relax and enjoy the latest films and TV series in 2D, 3D and 360° on individual immersive headsets. In offering this innovate new service, the leading national carrier looks to transform passenger-waiting times and set its customer journey apart. If deemed successful, SriLankan Airlines may also look to introduce the service onboard its long-haul flights.



SkyLights is an American-French company pioneering VR as passenger entertainment in-flight and in the lounge. Recognising its expertise in the field, SriLankan Airlines selected SkyLights’ Allosky and Skykids solutions to create a dedicated private cinema area as a new type of guest experience, including children entertained during their stay at the lounge.

SriLankan Airlines Chief Executive Officer Vipula Gunatilleka said: “We are pleased to partner SkyLights in our endeavour to provide a memorable travel experience to our valued customers. Introducing this immersive cinema experience for the enjoyment of our premium passengers is a truly progressive step given that we are one of the first Airlines in the Asian region to adopt the service. We continue to embrace new technology and trends in all our service aspects whereby to provide a unique passenger journey amidst the comforts of contemporary air travel complemented with the traditional Sri Lankan warmth and hospitality.”

With the sleek and comfortable Allosky headsets and Bluetooth headphones, guests at the Serendib lounge will enjoy films such as critically acclaimed Crazy Rich Asians, and in 3D Spielberg’s Ready Player One in Full HD. Furthermore, passengers that wear reading glasses are not excluded from enjoying the service thanks to focus adjustments on the device.

For younger travellers, films such as Ferdinand (3D), Harry Potter and The Lego Batman Movie (3D) will be available on Skykids headsets, which have a fun design, are extremely easy to use and allow reading glasses to be worn inside of the headset.

“The lounge is an important part in the premium customer journey and to date there has been little in the way of passenger entertainment in this space. With SriLankan Airlines we secure our first deployment in the Asia-Pacific region. Together we are working to set a new standard in customer experience before passengers even step foot on the plane,” said SkyLights CEO David Dicko.

Jan 12, Colombo: Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) has initiated the process of handing over its facilities at Ratmalana to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) this week.

The SLAF said the relinquishing of facilities and areas occupied by the SLAF in the Ratmalana Airport environs commenced this week. A conference to finalize the modalities of the handover was held on January 7. The specialist checking of the buildings' inventories had begun soon after.

The handing over is the culmination of discussions between the Civil Aviation Authority and the Air Force. The final agreement was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers on December 12, 2017.

Three Air Force flying formations, namely the No 8 Light Transport Squadron, Helitours Ltd., and No 61 Flight were shifted to temporary locations until the construction of the alternate hangar and apron infrastructure within the Air Force Base in Ratmalana.

A total land area of approximately 25 acres will be handed over to the Civil Aviation Authority when the transfer is completed. The Air Movement section, previously located at the Ratmalana Air Port complex, will also be relocated within the Air Force Base in Ratmalana. It will handle all military air movements once operations recommence when the alternate accommodations are complete.

The Ratmalana Airport, being the first international airport in Sri Lanka was operating as the major international airport up to the year 1969.
The airport which has been located very close to the major commercial city in Colombo, with easy access to all the main roads, presently operates around 70 domestic aircraft movements per day, the airport serves domestic aviation needs including commercial passenger flights, Aviation Training, During the war, the airport was used mainly for Sri Lanka Air Force operations and after the war ended in 2009, it was re-opened for civil aviation services.