Sri Lanka, Jan. 5 -- A Cabinet Memorandum will be presented next week seeking approval to call for Expression of Interest (EOI) from local or foreign investors to develop the Mattala international airport under the public private partnership (PPP) model, Deputy Minister of Ports and Civil Aviation Janitha Kodituwakku said.

The previous government also unsuccessfully tried to transfer the management for the $209 million Chinese-funded airport to two foreign companies, including one Indian. This move has been taken in a bid to mitigate losses incurred by state-owned enterprises.

The International airport was constructed with financing from China EXIM Bank.Currently, it is used for chartered flight operations for tourism only.

The Deputy ...