CAA Chief calls for public ideas to develop Mattala
In a bid to explore all possible ways to make inactive Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA) more productive, Shibly Aziz, Chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) of Sri Lanka, has called for suggestions from the people to develop the facility.
Speaking to the Business Times on the sidelines of the opening of Fairway Aviation Academy in Ratmalana on Monday, Mr. Aziz said, “We are trying to explore all the possible ways of making MRIA productive and also we’d like the people to give us ideas how to develop it. As a second alternative international airport it might take a little time to develop but in the short term there are so many possibilities of improving.”
He said any kind of training can be done at MRIA. Even flying schools can be set up close to the airport. “We are inviting a lot of people including aircraft manufacturers to come and set up small units there. MRIA in the short term cannot be developed for passengers. But while we are hoping to increase the number of passengers, we are also thinking of starting some aviation related industry around it. Also we are looking at foreign airlines who are interested to make use of the airport as a transit point. All this takes a little time,” noted Mr. Aziz.