Japan’s Foreign Ministry has announced that the Japanese government is to provide USD 380 million (Yen 45.4 billion) for the expansion of Sri Lanka’s Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA).

While the signing of this agreement during Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s current tour of Japan, Japan has also expressed its keenness on providing cooperation towards Sri Lanka’s maritime security.

While Cabinet approval was obtained recently for such an agreement, the government says that following the expansion of structural facilities and services, it expects to handle 15 million passengers annually.

Currently the BIA handles some 07 million passengers annually and has almost reached its limits.