Plans to develop Batticaloa airport?

COLOMBO (News 1st) - A report in The Island newspaper has brought the spotlight onto a supposed plan to develop the Batticaloa airport. According to the newspaper, a discussion between Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Prime Minister Ranil Wicramasinghe resulted in the Minister Bringing up the topic of developing the Batticaloa airport. Public representatives commented on the matter following the District Development Committee meeting in Batticaloa today (October 22). "Is there a plan to start an airline service from Tamil Nadu to Batticaloa?" Mannikkam Udayakumar, who is the District Secretary of Batticaloa said that he does not know anything about it. However, the State Minister of Highways & Road Development M. L. A. M. Hizbullah stated that there is a proposal. "If there is a plan to implement an airline from another country to Batticaloa, services of customs, immigration and emigration should be completed. The Ministry of Finance and Civil Aviation are holding talks in this regard." said the State Minister. Meanwhile, Dep. Min. of National Integration, Reconciliation & Official Languages Seyed Ali Zahir Moulana says that there is also a need to develop the Batticaloa Airport to international standard. "We have signed a memorandum of understanding on Civil Aviation services," said the Dep. Minister. News 1st inquired into the matter and a source at the location informed us that an agreement on the upgrading of the Batticaloa airport had not been made yet. The source adds that at present, the airport is sufficiently equipped to handle domestic air travel. Further, News 1st learns that the current length of the Runway in Batticaloa fails to meet the requirement for a large international aircraft. An extension in this sense will require dredging of the ocean or claiming of land, both of which brings with it logistical and economic challenges that put the feasibility of this project into doubt. Aviation insiders state that as there is a lack of demand for international air travel in Batticaloa, and that Palaly is a better alternative as it is closer to a major city in Jaffna. Attempts to contact Director General of the Civil Aviation authority HMC Nimalsiri proved futile.