He made these comments at the function held at the landing of the A-380, 550-seater aircraft with 524 passengers and the Pilot was Udaya Tilakaratna.

He said that after 30 years the runaway was redeveloped investing Rs 72 billion. “We have undertaken some more development work at the Airport. Already we have called for tenders for the construction of the second terminal building.”

The management of Emirates has agreed to fly once a month between Dubai and Sri Lanka and it will boost tourism, said the Minister. He further added that the government is keen to develop Mattala Airport as well and for this we will get the support of Indian investors to attract airlines to Mattala.