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Expansionary project at BIA makes progress

17 Jan 2021

Expansionary work at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) which also includes the construction of a second terminal (Terminal 2) that began late last year after facing years of delays due to a number of reasons, is being undertaken according to plan, with 38 aprons having already been constructed under the project. Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Ltd. (AASL) Chairman Maj. Gen. (Retd.) G.A. Chandrasiri told The Sunday Morning Business that along with the expansionary work and the scheduled reopening of the airport for all tourists, they are preparing to go back to pre-Covid levels. After running into numerous obstacles that delayed the implementation of the project for years, construction of Terminal 2 at the BIA was launched on 30 November last year. The Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) is the concessionary loan provider for the new terminal at BIA. The loan agreement of Rs. 56 billion was signed over four years ago on 24 March 2016. The new terminal building would feature the addition of 96 check-in counters, eight baggage claim belts, seven baggage makeup carousels, 16 contact boarding gates with 28 passenger boarding bridges, and six bus gates. The scope also includes a capacity enhancement of the incinerator, water treatment plant, and sewerage treatment plant. The BIA has been in dire need of another terminal for years now. It had more than 170 aircraft movements per day, including an average of more than 60 movements of heavy aircraft per day in 2018. The existing six million-passenger terminal handled 10 million passengers in 2018, resulting in hours of delays, particularly as passengers were trying to collect their baggage. According to the annual reports of AASL, the airport experienced heavy congestion in the arrival and departure zones, as well as vehicular traffic, particularly during peak hours; all while passenger arrivals grew 5-6% Year-on-Year (YoY).


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