Bids for the highly anticipated second phase of the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) expansion are expected to be opened by the end of this week, according to the Deputy Minister of Ports and Civil Aviation.
This follows the conclusion of technical evaluations amid a closely watched tender process, which recently saw the disqualification of a major contender.
Deputy Minister of Ports and Civil Aviation Janitha Ruwan Kodithuwakku confirmed that the technical evaluation for the main construction tender (Package ‘A1’) was still underway, involving two remaining bidders.
“The technical evaluation of the tender process is still ongoing, so we cannot reveal all the details yet,” he said.
The Deputy Minister also addressed questions of delay in the bidding process.
“Since we assumed power, we renegotiated with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) on the funding amount. We immediately moved to the next step, which is the tender process, and received bids from two companies. Both asked for more time to submit their final proposals, so we granted an extension of four weeks,” he explained.
“Now that the bidding period has closed, we have moved on to the technical evaluation. The only delay since we came to power was the four-week extension requested by the bidders themselves, which we granted to maintain competition,” he added.
Kodithuwakku anticipates that the technical assessments will be completed by the end of June or early July. “Once the technical evaluation is finished, we will open the financial bids to check whether they are affordable,” he added. “At that point, we can announce who will be awarded the contract and how the project will proceed.”
The BIA Phase II project, designed to boost the airport’s annual passenger capacity to 16 million, is expected to take approximately two-and-a-half years to complete once construction begins. The Government hopes to complete the project by 2027.
Despite the complexities of the current tender process, the Government remains committed to swiftly advancing the BIA Phase II project, recognising its vital role in Sri Lanka’s economic recovery and the country’s ambition to become a prominent aviation hub in the region.