The government is preparing an exclusive business plan for the Mattala International Airport built by the previous government and dubbed a ‘white elephant’ by the present government.

The government has appointed a Cabinet sub-committee for the preparation of this marketing plan and it is reportedly to meet for the first time at 3.30 pm tomorrow (04 June).

While the advantages to Sri Lanka due to establishing the Mattala International Airport were discussed recently by the Parliamentary Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE), it was revealed that flights using Sri Lanka air space has increased considerably due to the availability of an international standard airport in the country.

This is since even an A380 plane, one of the largest aircraft world-wide could land at Mattala during an emergency.

From January to September 2014, the Mattala International Airport has recorded 16,712 passenger departures and an arrival of 13,371 passengers.

There are allegations that this airport has been constructed without any business plans.