Major airport expansion drive

THE Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) will be on par with the best airports in the region from October this year with the completion of the ongoing development project, Ports and Aviation Minister Mangala Samaraweera asserted yesterday.

"It will be an airport that Sri Lankans can be proud of," Minister Samaraweera said.

Revealing the Government's plans for the expansion and modernisation of the major airports at a news briefing held in Colombo, the Minister said a second runway for the BIA, now in the planning stage, would be able to accommodate Airbus A380 aircraft and permit more aircraft movements at the BIA. Land will be obtained from the Sri Lanka Air Force for this purpose.

The BIA will be able to handle six million passenger movements per annum from October. Cargo capacity will be increased to 250,000 tons per annum.

A separate domestic terminal will be built at the BIA, for which tenders have already been invited. This will facilitate the easy transfer of passengers between domestic and international flights.

The four aprons already completed can handle the Airbus A380 (operational from 2006) and the Boeing Dreamliner (B787).

The Minister announced a saving of 4,000 million yen on the Airport Development Project, which will be used for several additional projects.

These projects, slated to be completed by end October 2006, include: new departures and arrivals public concourse; expansion of the airline check-in area (from 40 desks to 54), refurbishment of the passenger terminal A/C system, state of the art docking guidance system for aircraft and a multi-storeyed car park within walking distance to departure terminal.

It is also planned to establish a transit hotel and an international airport hotel at the BIA.

The Minister said the Government has set its sights on Koggala as a second international airport. The feasibility study has been completed and funding options (estimated cost- US$ 75 million) were being considered. The Government has already acquired around 900 acres for the project. "We can expedite the project as the land is not inhabited," he added.

The Ratmalana airport will also be developed for regional operations at a cost Rs. 620 million. This will be especially beneficial with the commencement of regional flights by private sector airlines, he said. The authorities are evaluating the applications made by nine companies in this regard and a few will be chosen.

I have heard that Sri Lanka's infrastructure, especially ports and I assume airports, is so much better than India's. I wish India would spend some money on its airports, too. I've also heard that air traffic control over India is very bad and that it is quite dangerous to fly over the country.

actually sri lankas ports .. marine ports are among the best on the world .. its the 26th busiest port in the world ... its airports too are very competitive in the sub continent ... :)

Pictures?

Taken Apr 21st

http://img263.echo.cx/img263/2713/colomboairport3uv.jpg (http://www.imageshack.us)
Not a very clear overview of the airport. Sorry about the quality, by the time i could get a view of the airport we were very far and high.
North of the runway is the passenger terminal and on the south is the military complex.
This airport is FULL of underground bunkers, watchtowers and AA guns.

The only possible place for a new runway is to the south by tearing down the jungle.

http://img290.echo.cx/img290/3688/colombocontrol2qo.jpg (http://www.imageshack.us)
The control tower BIA and the ATCC building

http://img262.echo.cx/img262/7345/colombonewpier5hf.jpg (http://www.imageshack.us)
This is the new pier that is under construction and will finally add 7 or 8 jetbridges to this tiny airport.

http://img265.echo.cx/img265/3153/colombotarmac24qx.jpg (http://www.imageshack.us)
View from the other side. The pier is connected to the old terminal, i have no idea how Colombo handled all its tourists from only this terminal in the past, it is very very cramped and has a very bad seating arrangement.
Now this terminal houses the transit and departure areas.
The newer building that can be seen in the left of the picture is the arrival building, very neat and spacious.

single runway?

more pics will be posted soon .. :)

thnx for the pics planemad .. when did u visit sri lanka ?

Apr21 and Apr26, was in transit AUH-CMB-MAA.
The country looks really beautiful from the sky, countless palms and lots of small streams around the airport.

will post pics soon .. leaving tomm. ... :)

I was recently (30/03/2005 in CMB en route from YYZ via HKG but I did not notice any construction at all. In fact I remember reading a local newspaper called the Inquirer about how there has been little consruction at CMB. I dont have a copy of the article but I do have pictures of that particular nite. When did construction begin on the new extension?

http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/2343/30030502156uu.jpg

http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/2945/30030502172jc.jpg

sorry for the grainy quality of the pics, the security at the airport was airtight, could only use my phone camera.

How many runways will it have?

Does anyone have any maps, or renderings on how the new pier and the extention would look like???

i think they want to have 2 runways to be inline with IATA restrictions. There used to be a airport website up but now it doesnt work.

http://www.airport.lk/ takes a really long time to load

^^^ Thanks!!

Does anybody know when the new pier is due to be opened??

Has anyone been to CMB since and taken photos of it and the terminal??

Its looking nice. Cant wait to go there.

construction at BIA is over the flights are due to dock starting next month ....

I will have a program in Sri Lanka with my friends, what does people in Sri Lanka think about Chinese people?

^^^ naturally they are friendly to all visitors ...

Good to see SL upgrading their airports. Cant wait to go there now!!!

BTW Can someone upload some photos, I really want to see what the new terminal looks like!!

^^Same, I hope the inside will look modern.....but I sure will miss those bus rides......

^^Same, I hope the inside will look modern.....but I sure will miss those bus rides......

LOL Too True!!

When I last visited CMB earlier this year I was quite impressed at the interior of the arrivals terminal. I then walked through a construction zone (the new shops) and suddenly was greeted with a very old looking terminal.

I hope theyll fix it up soon!!

The project was opened on the 15th November. Any pics of the new terminal area???

BTW Air Deccan is rumored to be starting a Sri Lankan subsidiary so that it can operate to Singapore, Sharjah and other destinations.

hmm ,... i ll see if i can get sm pics from smwhere ...

http://sify.com/finance/fullstory.php?id=14014236


Deccan Lanka to offer low-cost travel option


Friday, 18 November , 2005, 10:01

New Delhi: Deccan Lanka, a subsidiary of Air Deccan will soon start operating regular low-cost flights from Colombo to a number of nearby international destinations including Kochi, Singapore and Sharjah.

Sources told Business Line that the licence of `Deccan Lanka,' the Sri Lanka registered company of Air Deccan, has been approved by the island state's aviation authorities. The new airline hopes to take to the skies within the next six months, initially with three Airbus A-320 aircraft.

"As the new airline will be a Sri Lankan company, it will operate under their laws and will operate on short haul routes from Colombo. The airline can fly from Colombo to Kochi and other Indian cities and then offer connections to the passenger to other nearby international destinations," sources said.

The decision comes shortly after the Sri Lankan Government allowed airlines other than the national airline, SriLankan, to start operating regular international flights from Colombo. | Read more Finance news. |

While 52 per cent of the equity in the new joint venture company is held by Air Deccan, the rest is held by two other entities including a company floated by the son of former Sri Lankan politician, Gamini Dissanaike.

When contacted the Managing Director of Air Deccan, Captain G.R. Gopinath refused to comment on the new project. Air Deccan had applied to the Sri Lankan Government for a charter licence almost two years back. The company already has one helicopter stationed in Sri Lanka.

Interestingly, Air Deccan cannot operate on international routes from India as yet. At present the Government rules lay down that an airline has to operate in the domestic market for five years before it is eligible to fly regular international flights. The airline took to the skies in August 2003 with ATR aircraft that offered regular connections to the smaller cities. Exactly a year later it launched flights on metro routes using an Airbus A-320 aircraft.

http://img361.imageshack.us/img361/9938/colomboairport4dr.jpg

Nice pic. Where abouts is that in the airport??

I think that is the food court, on the way left side of the airport

Low Quality but thts all i could find so far //

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/9051/bia1ud.jpg

I love it, great pics:D:D

Nice work there!! There are some other pics posted in: http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=284412 by HKSKYLINE. But if anyone has/will pass/ed CMB after the new aerobridges were opened could you plz upload some pics of the new interior of the terminal. Thanx.




SriLankan keen on more flights to India


Friday, 25 November , 2005, 08:20

New Delhi: The national airline of Sri Lanka, SriLankan, which is likely to end the year in the red, is looking to further expand its services in India, a senior official said on Wednesday. Today in Sify Finance

The airlines Head of Commercial, Barry Brown, told Business Line that several global incidents, including the rising cost of fuel and the tsunami tragedy were likely to put tremendous pressure on the airlines' bottom-line this year.

"This year has been very tough for the airline. We are striving to break-even during the financial year ending March 31. While at the start of the year, we had estimated fuel to cost around $1.50 per gallon, last month itself, the price crossed $2 per gallon.

In a situation where an increase of every one cent wipes of $1 million from the bottom-line, it is possible that the airline ends the year in the red," Brown said.

However, while the airline may report a loss, the SriLankan Airline Group will report a profit, Brown pointed out and added that there was every possibility that a dividend is paid this year also.

The group includes divisions looking after catering and airport services apart from the airline.

Commenting on the airline's plans for India, Brown said the cities under the SriLankan spotlight include Pune, Goa, Ahmedabad and Kolkata. "Shortly after starting cargo operations to Pune, we started getting e-mails asking why we do not consider launching a passenger service to the city," Brown said.

The airline, which is the largest foreign airline operating 88 flights a week from 10 Indian cities to Colombo, is also keen to extend the Kolkata flight to Dhaka. It is also examining the possibility of putting larger aircraft on the India route. The airline mostly operates the single-aisle Airbus A-320 to most cities here.