Sri Lanka: ousted prime minister Wickremesinghe reinstalled

[Cobra Arbok]

China was the first to congratulate to Rajpaksa as the news broke out. Go figure that.


My above answer shows that atleast China sees Rajpaksa as pro china, and btw china funded his election campaign. Paid him $7 mn.


When u build a port where if 2 ships dock seems like good business, u dont get any revenue and interest keeps on mounting, then u cant make the payments so u look for less stringent conditions, china didn't give any so Govt gave away the port atleast this way they dont have to bear the expense. BTW threat worked in port city project as well. read about it. think upon the need of that port and of the port city, u wont find any justifiable reason.

china was literally the only country to support rajapaksha

 

[HeinzG]

Excellent. Rajapakse was a real mess not just for us but also for the Lankans. Thanks to him, SL has a port which they cannot afford, an airport they cannot monetize and most certainly the infrastructure that they built was in places that SL government clearly failed to utilise in any meaningful way.

While I don't blame the Chinese for this, Lankans have realised their mistake and don't want the country to go into further debt. This was a really awkward transition.

Rajpaksa is a threat to India and we know it. You play your own game and we play ours.

The H'tota port was no burden for Sri Lanka. It was sold to defame Rajapaksa. Can't you comprehend this logic?

Same is true for the Mattala airport. If it had no monetary value, would India buy it out right?

The most criticized infra projects such as Norochcholai Coal power plant and the Sourther expressway has already paid its costs and now earns profit for Sri Lanka. So much so for creating a mess.

 

[Nilgiri]

Which ones are those?

and you just got pinked right in front of my eyes lol.

 

[HeinzG]

My above answer shows that atleast China sees Rajpaksa as pro china, and btw china funded his election campaign. Paid him $7 mn.

If China sees MR as pro China then we can't help it. It is there own perception. Also, how did you know China funded the election campaign? Don't you know the US treasury spend lot more than that to reinstate Ranil to premiership. Don't you see any oddity in that?

When u build a port where if 2 ships dock seems like good business, u dont get any revenue and interest keeps on mounting, then u cant make the payments so u look for less stringent conditions, china didn't give any so Govt gave away the port atleast this way they dont have to bear the expense. BTW threat worked in port city project as well. read about it. think upon the need of that port and of the port city, u wont find any justifiable reason.

The loan for the H'tota port was paid through the profit earning Colombo Port. Therefore, it was not a problem of paying Chinese debt. H'tota port was not merely a port to load and unload cargo. It was intended as a port complex incorporating fuel bunkering, ship repairing facilities and servicing facilities.

What about the Port city project? All the expenses of designing and building pf port city was intended to be paid as land swap. Therefore, there would not have any trouble Chinese loans there. You should read about it.

 

[Aryan0395]

how did you know China funded the election campaign? Don't you know the US treasury spend lot more than that to reinstate Ranil

U are asking me, i could ask u the same how did u know about US treasury spending to reinstate ranil.

It was intended as a port complex incorporating fuel bunkering, ship repairing facilities and servicing facilities.

and yet neither of these activities are being carried out there. One would have to be daft to not see that.

All the expenses of designing and building pf port city was intended to be paid as land swap.

i know another 40 or 70 year lease....lol
and total worth of project more than what SL can afford....expect lease time to increase significantly.

 

[Tshering22]

Rajpaksa is a threat to India and we know it. You play your own game and we play ours.

There is no game here. Rajapakse did indeed have anti-India views and not just in domestic politics. While we really don't bother on what your internal politics is from an Indian perspective, we just cannot let him set base in SL for anti-India activities. Nothing against SL folks - just securing our own security interests.

The H'tota port was no burden for Sri Lanka. It was sold to defame Rajapaksa. Can't you comprehend this logic?

Really?

And pray tell me what is the H'tota port used for right now? Gwadar is going to be the biggest transhipment hub for Chinese and international goods in the subcontinent.
Is HP designed to be a free port?

Do you have the legislative wherewithal to develop a freeport economy around the port?

How are you going to compete against Singapore, who has decades of experience in running freeport economy and profiting from it? This isn't an apparel store where discounts would attract big merchant ships - you will need more than just discount pricing (which, anywhere is not practical given the cost recovery rate that you expect from something as big as HP).

Like I said, I don't have anything against SL or its politics; that is your problem. But have you even looked at the port from your own perspective and tried to assess where and what role would HP play in the region?

After all that money that has gone into the port.. you should actually look at the white elephant projects that your politicians who are in Chinese pockets are throwing at you with no financial or utilisation practicality.

Same is true for the Mattala airport. If it had no monetary value, would India buy it out right?

Mattala Airport has been rated as a disaster right from the first three months of operations when Mihin Lanka dropped out of the airport to be used as a secondary hub. My friend, airport doesn't run on the whims of politicians; it is a strategic assets which is meant to channelise the biggest and most valuable resource of any country; manpower.

SL is a destination airport and not a hub airport unlike Singapore, Dubai or Hong Kong. Let me show you a brief picture of what you will be competing against:

• Dubai - the king of airports in this and adjoining regions. It already has 4 full-to-the-hilt airport terminals managing over 60 million passengers yearly and is further looking at expanding towards Jebel Ali Airport which is one of the largest airports in the world aimed at serving over 25 crore people through the facility on a yearly basis.
• Abu Dhabi - massive wealth, excellent workforce, no dearth of infrastructure masterplans and directly under the royal family, this airport is giving tough competition to Dubai its fellow competitor. Need I say more?
• Singapore - the airport which has ranked as the finest in the world in its category for years and years together. Ranging from its service, to its construction to its commercial strategy moving away from the B2B model of attracting airlines, to now directly focusing on non-aeronautical commercial revenues by targeting B2C segment with its own loyalty cards and tie ups.
• Bangkok - everyone's favourite tourist destination ranging from Sweden to India to Saudi Arabia and China. Thailand being a member of ASEAN has access to a critical mass of passengers very few airports around the world have. It is slated to massively expand its behind and beyond slot offering to all airlines that are looking to make it not only their regional hub but also transcontinental hubs.
• Kuala Lumpur - Another mini Singapore in the making, Malaysia has recovered from its bad press of the aviation tragedy it faced a couple of years back and is back with a bang. Not only it has the most powerful and influential low cost carrier at its home base, it also has a robust aviation masterplan to further welcome more carriers to use its base as a transit alternate to Singapore's Changi.

Do you know what is common between these airports? Wealth, experience, and access to 100 times more resources than SL Airports Authority can even imagine. This is the reason why despite all attempts to compete, Indian airports cannot even come close to these powerhouses in the category of international transit hubs.

But with us, we have our own critical mass which means that even with a simple origin-destination model, our airports can sustain comfortably and need not compete with these hub airports.

What does Mattala Airport offer?

• There is no advanced surface connectivity between Mattala airport and the nearest metropolitan base
• There is no masterplan of offering behind and beyond destinations for airlines looking at making Mattala their transiting hubs.
• There is no reason for passengers to choose Mattala as a transit hub compared to Bangkok, Singapore, Dubai or Abu Dhabi. What can an airport in the middle of nowhere offer?

BTW for your information, India is still only 'mulling' over buying Mattala on a BOP model basis.

Do you really think that Airports Authority of India would allow this easily?

Mattala's growth would mean cannibalising Chennai airport's strength, which is being augmented right now.

AAI would never allow any Indian entity to complete the purchase. It is simply about opportunity, man.

The most criticized infra projects such as Norochcholai Coal power plant and the Sourther expressway has already paid its costs and now earns profit for Sri Lanka. So much so for creating a mess.

I'll be more than happy to learn from you about these two projects. Could you post some links and reports here on its transformation?

Thanks.

 

[HeinzG]

There is no game here. Rajapakse did indeed have anti-India views and not just in domestic politics. While we really don't bother on what your internal politics is from an Indian perspective, we just cannot let him set base in SL for anti-India activities. Nothing against SL folks - just securing our own security interests.

Rajapaksha is pro Sri Lanka as one member put it. Sometimes it might go against the Indian interests. We cannot help there. Sri Lanka was never used as a base for India activities until recently when the H'tota port was given to Chinese. Now we cannot help it either. It was another mess India created.

Really?

And pray tell me what is the H'tota port used for right now? Gwadar is going to be the biggest transhipment hub for Chinese and international goods in the subcontinent.
Is HP designed to be a free port?

Do you have the legislative wherewithal to develop a freeport economy around the port?

I don't know what is the use of the H'tota port now. It is sold to Chinese. They rule the roost there.

BTW, Gwadar is too far away to become a transhipment hub. It may be used to pump Gulf oil. That's it.

H'tota will become very important if the "Kra" canal is opened. Chinese might do that in the future.

How are you going to compete against Singapore, who has decades of experience in running freeport economy and profiting from it? This isn't an apparel store where discounts would attract big merchant ships - you will need more than just discount pricing (which, anywhere is not practical given the cost recovery rate that you expect from something as big as HP).

AFAIK, H'tota was not designed as a free port. It was designed to offer services to the ships using the East-West shipping lane. As I said earlier, if the "Kra" canal is built; Singapore will be doomed to fail. Unless otherwise, H'tota nor Colombo can directly compete with Singapore.

After all that money that has gone into the port.. you should actually look at the white elephant projects that your politicians who are in Chinese pockets are throwing at you with no financial or utilisation practicality.

How can a port sitting next to a busy shipping lane to be a white elephant? It's not like the ports of Vizaganam and such. Sitting far away from shipping lanes.

Mattala Airport has been rated as a disaster right from the first three months of operations when Mihin Lanka dropped out of the airport to be used as a secondary hub. My friend, airport doesn't run on the whims of politicians; it is a strategic assets which is meant to channelise the biggest and most valuable resource of any country; manpower.

Mattala needs to be marketed more. It is sitting right in the middle of Sri Lankan tourist zone. And it was built to function as the back up airport for the Colombo Int. airport in Katunayake. Before that many diverted flights went to Chennai. Why should Sri Lanka divert it's flight to someone else's airport?

SL is a destination airport and not a hub airport unlike Singapore, Dubai or Hong Kong. Let me show you a brief picture of what you will be competing against:

• Dubai - the king of airports in this and adjoining regions. It already has 4 full-to-the-hilt airport terminals managing over 60 million passengers yearly and is further looking at expanding towards Jebel Ali Airport which is one of the largest airports in the world aimed at serving over 25 crore people through the facility on a yearly basis.
• Abu Dhabi - massive wealth, excellent workforce, no dearth of infrastructure masterplans and directly under the royal family, this airport is giving tough competition to Dubai its fellow competitor. Need I say more?
• Singapore - the airport which has ranked as the finest in the world in its category for years and years together. Ranging from its service, to its construction to its commercial strategy moving away from the B2B model of attracting airlines, to now directly focusing on non-aeronautical commercial revenues by targeting B2C segment with its own loyalty cards and tie ups.
• Bangkok - everyone's favourite tourist destination ranging from Sweden to India to Saudi Arabia and China. Thailand being a member of ASEAN has access to a critical mass of passengers very few airports around the world have. It is slated to massively expand its behind and beyond slot offering to all airlines that are looking to make it not only their regional hub but also transcontinental hubs.
• Kuala Lumpur - Another mini Singapore in the making, Malaysia has recovered from its bad press of the aviation tragedy it faced a couple of years back and is back with a bang. Not only it has the most powerful and influential low cost carrier at its home base, it also has a robust aviation masterplan to further welcome more carriers to use its base as a transit alternate to Singapore's Changi.

Do you know what is common between these airports? Wealth, experience, and access to 100 times more resources than SL Airports Authority can even imagine. This is the reason why despite all attempts to compete, Indian airports cannot even come close to these powerhouses in the category of international transit hubs.

The Hub and Spoke method is dying down now as the advent of long range fuel efficient aircrafts like B787 and AB350. This is the primary reason why AB380 to fail. H'tota can be connected with all European, Australian and some US cities with ease. Why do we need a hub?

But with us, we have our own critical mass which means that even with a simple origin-destination model, our airports can sustain comfortably and need not compete with these hub airports.

What does Mattala Airport offer?

• There is no advanced surface connectivity between Mattala airport and the nearest metropolitan base
• There is no masterplan of offering behind and beyond destinations for airlines looking at making Mattala their transiting hubs.
• There is no reason for passengers to choose Mattala as a transit hub compared to Bangkok, Singapore, Dubai or Abu Dhabi. What can an airport in the middle of nowhere offer?

BTW for your information, India is still only 'mulling' over buying Mattala on a BOP model basis.

The surface connectivity is already being built. The rail line has extended almost to the edge of the airport and the rest will be built soon. The expressway connection connecting Mattala and Colombo then to Katunayaka is also built. It is also in it's final phase. If it wasn't for the delay due to the current moronic government, the rail line and the expressway would have been already built.

Masterplan can be made according to the national requirements. That is not a big problem.

Middle of nowhere? Hah.

Do you really think that Airports Authority of India would allow this easily?

I wish India would not buy the airport.

Mattala's growth would mean cannibalising Chennai airport's strength, which is being augmented right now.

AAI would never allow any Indian entity to complete the purchase. It is simply about opportunity, man.

This is the problem with India. Mattala's success is the ultimate downfall of Chennai and other regional air ports. Chennai was specifically cashing in on the fact that Sri Lanka do not have a backup air port. Now Mattala fills the hole which previously Chennai was in.

You people do not want Mattala to succeed. But we do. Mattala is not simply viable it is an extremely profitable venture.

U are asking me, i could ask u the same how did u know about US treasury spending to reinstate ranil.

There was a news report when John Kerry publicly announced US involvement in Sri Lankan regime change and how did they donate money to the cause.

and yet neither of these activities are being carried out there. One would have to be daft to not see that.

That is not our problem now. The port is in the Hands of China.

i know another 40 or 70 year lease....lol
and total worth of project more than what SL can afford....expect lease time to increase significantly.

That wasn't a lease. Full equity swap.

 

[Tshering22]

Rajapaksha is pro Sri Lanka as one member put it. Sometimes it might go against the Indian interests. We cannot help there. Sri Lanka was never used as a base for India activities until recently when the H'tota port was given to Chinese. Now we cannot help it either. It was another mess India created.

Excuse me? What did we create?

Your government did not appoint proper assessment agency to evaluate the financial feasibility of the port. You are in debt due to the impractical implementation of the port project and now you are blaming us? H'tota port's financial concerns are just your own internal politics.

Don't blame it on us. We are not interested in interfering in what you do with your tax money. Also, we have nothing against Chinese making commercial seaports for trade there. Our only concern was the stationing of PLAN nuclear submarines, which your President has been kind enough to address. That's it.

How exactly is Rajapakse "pro-SL", if he is is blowing away your hard-earned cash in white elephant projects? Did you even read the reports? Sure it has commenced lay-up operations, but now within Chinese sovereign control, there is little you can do to control its operations.

Sure, the infrastructure looks glitzy on the cover of an economic magazine, but how is it benefiting you guys vis a vis Gwadar, Chahbahar and Chittagong, which are already backed with sufficient capital to sustain medium and long term economic competition? You need to see the capitalization aspect of the ports and large-scale commercial projects too.

Chinese now have complete control on the port and technically it has become China's port until you pay up the $1.1 billion back - with interest applicable.

I don't know what is the use of the H'tota port now. It is sold to Chinese. They rule the roost there.

BTW, Gwadar is too far away to become a transhipment hub. It may be used to pump Gulf oil. That's it.

H'tota will become very important if the "Kra" canal is opened. Chinese might do that in the future.

The bold part doesn't sound too optimistic doesn't it? Especially if it is controlled by a state controlled entity which knows the extent of its receivables from your coffers now.

Gwadar is directly linked with OBOR, all the way throughout Pakistan, P-0-K and straight into China. Sure it was developed to primarily transport oil in case of a blockade at Malacca in times of conflict, but Gwadar was designed for transshipment of goods to Europe, Middle East and Africa as well. Oil is just PHASE 1.

AFAIK, H'tota was not designed as a free port. It was designed to offer services to the ships using the East-West shipping lane. As I said earlier, if the "Kra" canal is built; Singapore will be doomed to fail. Unless otherwise, H'tota nor Colombo can directly compete with Singapore.

Is there any concrete work going on in developing the canal? Also, can you please post some pictures of the project? Thanks.

Mattala needs to be marketed more. It is sitting right in the middle of Sri Lankan tourist zone. And it was built to function as the back up airport for the Colombo Int. airport in Katunayake. Before that many diverted flights went to Chennai. Why should Sri Lanka divert it's flight to someone else's airport?

A backup airport with nothing to offer the demand and supply drivers in the aviation market. That, is what I am talking about my friend.

An airport cannot sit empty for so long. This is more to do about commercial viability in terms of ancillary provisions for airlines, passengers and commercial companies in and around the airport. You want to start making money using an airport? Then the commercial masterplan should have been ready when the airport was in its STAGE 2 of development. Not after its made.

Every day you fail getting in flights, your treasury bleeds.

The Hub and Spoke method is dying down now as the advent of long range fuel efficient aircrafts like B787 and AB350. This is the primary reason why AB380 to fail. H'tota can be connected with all European, Australian and some US cities with ease. Why do we need a hub?

You are referring to the H&S model of small commuter carriers operating domestically. That, is dying down. But not the international H&S.

Today's hubs are not dictated by the range or fuel efficiency of the aircraft but the multi-directional connectivity across different sectors simultaneously all over the world. Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Singapore, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta are already seeing the operations of A350s and B787 aircraft.

The range is not the question; the question is about developing and sustaining a critical mass of passengers from different parts of the world to do some sort of engaging monetary activity at an airport. That, is the purpose of hub and spoke at international level.

Simply put---> More diverse passengers at an airport = more probability of non-aeronautical commercial activities at the airport = more revenue generated = better offer for airlines to bring in more people and offset their own costs at that airport.

Dubai is not an idiot to not have thought of this, especially when it itself operates the world's largest fleet of ultra-long range aircraft.

Masterplan can be made according to the national requirements. That is not a big problem.

Middle of nowhere? Hah.

One little question; are you aware of the gestation period of monetization of such large-scale assets at a national level?

This is the problem with India. Mattala's success is the ultimate downfall of Chennai and other regional air ports. Chennai was specifically cashing in on the fact that Sri Lanka do not have a backup air port. Now Mattala fills the hole which previously Chennai was in.

You people do not want Mattala to succeed. But we do. Mattala is not simply viable it is an extremely profitable venture.

Dude, that's pure business. It will only push for all regional southern Indian airports to modernise faster. Right now, your biggest competitor and threat is not Chennai; it is Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport. It is recording a 35% quarterly growth in capacity expansion, infrastructure and air traffic.

Chennai was always a 'destination airport' just like Colombo, because Chennai is a metro city and businesses are headquartered there. The lazy government bureaucrats never really focused on behind-beyond model of revenue generation.

If you want to compete with AAI government airports, then you are not seeing the real competition.

Bengaluru would eat Mattala airport for breakfast any day in terms of route competition. Let's not get to the commercials of it.

As for the bold part, be assured that no one in India would have the interest in buying Mattala. It was just a preliminary statement issued by the government here as a thought.

The National Civil Aviation Policy of India has highlighted the need for augmenting and constructing 100 more airports (after my home state Sikkim's airport, which marks 100th operational commercial airport in India) by 2035, in order to sustain our domestic aviation industry alone. Do you know how much of capital that means? It means all our money is parked within our own projects for a very long time to come.

Do you really think that after Maldives episode, private operators like GMR or GVK would want to cannibalise their own market? Indian companies are acquiring airports in different regions such as southern Europe and Philippines. SL offers no commercial advantage to their own accounting books.

 

[HeinzG]

Excuse me? What did we create?

Your government did not appoint proper assessment agency to evaluate the financial feasibility of the port. You are in debt due to the impractical implementation of the port project and now you are blaming us? H'tota port's financial concerns are just your own internal politics.

Don't blame it on us. We are not interested in interfering in what you do with your tax money. Also, we have nothing against Chinese making commercial seaports for trade there. Our only concern was the stationing of PLAN nuclear submarines, which your President has been kind enough to address. That's it.

What did you create? The whole Regime change drama is a RAW coupe. Well of course it wans't only RAW but they also had a part to play. It is an open secret who controls TNA, SLMC and Tamil coolie votes.

I have already shown your how it was not a burden to Sri Lanka to manage the ports and the airport. Don't you find it odd that suddenly when the Yahapalana government came to power in 2015 that the port and the airport became unfeasible and burdensome to maintain.

PLAN Nuke subs were never stationed in H'tota or any other Sri Lankan port. But, after the 2015 Yahapalana debacle and the subsequent selling of the H'tota harbor, we may never know for sure how will China use it in the future. Isn't it a mess created by India? You people have exponentially increased your China woes in Sri Lanka by helping ousting Mahinda Rajapaksha. Good riddance.

How exactly is Rajapakse "pro-SL", if he is is blowing away your hard-earned cash in white elephant projects? Did you even read the reports? Sure it has commenced lay-up operations, but now within Chinese sovereign control, there is little you can do to control its operations.

Sure, the infrastructure looks glitzy on the cover of an economic magazine, but how is it benefiting you guys vis a vis Gwadar, Chahbahar and Chittagong, which are already backed with sufficient capital to sustain medium and long term economic competition? You need to see the capitalization aspect of the ports and large-scale commercial projects too.

Chinese now have complete control on the port and technically it has become China's port until you pay up the $1.1 billion back - with interest applicable.

Why do we need to get lectures from Indians regarding Sri Lankan infrastructure projects? Do we need to expect that Indians would advice us on our interests?

We had already capitalize enough sums to sustain medium and long term economic competition. Thanks to the Yahapalana regime all those things have gone down the drain.

The bold part doesn't sound too optimistic doesn't it? Especially if it is controlled by a state controlled entity which knows the extent of its receivables from your coffers now.

Why do we need to pay 1.1 Billion back? That port was leased for 99 years. Besides, even in we had to pay double the cost of its selling prize. We would buy the port back. The debt burden is ours to worry. Indians should not be worried by that. We ain't giving you Trincomalee port.

Gwadar is directly linked with OBOR, all the way throughout Pakistan, P-0-K and straight into China. Sure it was developed to primarily transport oil in case of a blockade at Malacca in times of conflict, but Gwadar was designed for transshipment of goods to Europe, Middle East and Africa as well. Oil is just PHASE 1.

Gwadar is linked only with OBOR. But H'tota is linked with the International shipping lane running from East to West. If Gwadar is successful then it will be a much larger threat to your own Vizagnam port than H'tota.

Is there any concrete work going on in developing the canal? Also, can you please post some pictures of the project? Thanks.

No such work is carried out right now. But, it is proposed to build in the future. Don't you think that if it was built, H'tota will be in a very strategic position?

A backup airport with nothing to offer the demand and supply drivers in the aviation market. That, is what I am talking about my friend.

An airport cannot sit empty for so long. This is more to do about commercial viability in terms of ancillary provisions for airlines, passengers and commercial companies in and around the airport. You want to start making money using an airport? Then the commercial masterplan should have been ready when the airport was in its STAGE 2 of development. Not after its made.

Every day you fail getting in flights, your treasury bleeds.

Mattala is empty because it is not used for anything profitable. Do you expect an airport sitting close to international tourism zone cannot profit?

You are referring to the H&S model of small commuter carriers operating domestically. That, is dying down. But not the international H&S.

Today's hubs are not dictated by the range or fuel efficiency of the aircraft but the multi-directional connectivity across different sectors simultaneously all over the world. Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Singapore, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta are already seeing the operations of A350s and B787 aircraft.

The range is not the question; the question is about developing and sustaining a critical mass of passengers from different parts of the world to do some sort of engaging monetary activity at an airport. That, is the purpose of hub and spoke at international level.

Simply put---> More diverse passengers at an airport = more probability of non-aeronautical commercial activities at the airport = more revenue generated = better offer for airlines to bring in more people and offset their own costs at that airport.

Dubai is not an idiot to not have thought of this, especially when it itself operates the world's largest fleet of ultra-long range aircraft.

small commuter or international every H&S system is dying down now. Carriers with modern B757 or AB350 can connect any airport in the world from their own base. Within short period of time. We will see the decline of International hubs like Dubai, Singapore etc., People do not like to wait. When they have the opportunity to fly directly to their destination. Would honestly believe that they will choose to languish in a transition airport?

One little question; are you aware of the gestation period of monetization of such large-scale assets at a national level?

Yes I do.

Dude, that's pure business. It will only push for all regional southern Indian airports to modernise faster. Right now, your biggest competitor and threat is not Chennai; it is Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport. It is recording a 35% quarterly growth in capacity expansion, infrastructure and air traffic.

Chennai was always a 'destination airport' just like Colombo, because Chennai is a metro city and businesses are headquartered there. The lazy government bureaucrats never really focused on behind-beyond model of revenue generation.

If you want to compete with AAI government airports, then you are not seeing the real competition.

Bengaluru would eat Mattala airport for breakfast any day in terms of route competition. Let's not get to the commercials of it.

Sri Lanka faces no competition from Indian airports despite how "modern" they are. The International passengers arriving in Sri Lanka do not depend upon the quality of Indian airports.

As for the bold part, be assured that no one in India would have the interest in buying Mattala. It was just a preliminary statement issued by the government here as a thought.

The National Civil Aviation Policy of India has highlighted the need for augmenting and constructing 100 more airports (after my home state Sikkim's airport, which marks 100th operational commercial airport in India) by 2035, in order to sustain our domestic aviation industry alone. Do you know how much of capital that means? It means all our money is parked within our own projects for a very long time to come.

Do you really think that after Maldives episode, private operators like GMR or GVK would want to cannibalise their own market? Indian companies are acquiring airports in different regions such as southern Europe and Philippines. SL offers no commercial advantage to their own accounting books.

That is an actual relief. Indian venture are not welcomed in Sri Lanka.

 

[Tshering22]

I have already shown your how it was not a burden to Sri Lanka to manage the ports and the airport. Don't you find it odd that suddenly when the Yahapalana government came to power in 2015 that the port and the airport became unfeasible and burdensome to maintain.

Umm.. it is not us who has raised the issue of your national debt in the first place.
Your own PM Wickramasinghe was the one negotiating the financing of all infrastructure in favourable terms.

Rajapakse was leaving his post as the president anyway after election; he had nothing to lose to continue unabated. While that part of his corruption is your internal problem (we don't want to intrude there). National audits of major infrastructure projects are carried out after a certain period of time and only after investigation you get to know what has happened. So if the audits weren't able to find any fault earlier, that is Rajapakse's force, which we will never know.

Why do we need to get lectures from Indians regarding Sri Lankan infrastructure projects? Do we need to expect that Indians would advice us on our interests?

We had already capitalize enough sums to sustain medium and long term economic competition. Thanks to the Yahapalana regime all those things have gone down the drain.

I am not advising you; just telling you what your own agencies tell including your lawyers and auditors.

Why do we need to pay 1.1 Billion back? That port was leased for 99 years. Besides, even in we had to pay double the cost of its selling prize. We would buy the port back. The debt burden is ours to worry. Indians should not be worried by that. We ain't giving you Trincomalee port.

You are free to buy and sell whatever you want; as long as it is not used militarily against us. I was only raising these issues for the purpose of your discussion here. Do you really think that minus a military threat, whatever you do with your own tax money even bothers us? Hardly.

Gwadar is linked only with OBOR. But H'tota is linked with the International shipping lane running from East to West. If Gwadar is successful then it will be a much larger threat to your own Vizagnam port than H'tota.

Almost all ports of India operate as O-D ports and not free, transshipment ports. Gwadar's competition will be the North South Corridor from India to Russia, via Iran. Vizhinjam port in Kerala continues to remain a destination port with additional opportunities depending on what its management thinks. BTW the port's owner is the state government of Kerala. It has nothing to do with RAW; just to let you know.

small commuter or international every H&S system is dying down now. Carriers with modern B757 or AB350 can connect any airport in the world from their own base. Within short period of time. We will see the decline of International hubs like Dubai, Singapore etc., People do not like to wait. When they have the opportunity to fly directly to their destination. Would honestly believe that they will choose to languish in a transition airport?

Hubs don't operate exactly like that; they are dependent on something called economies of scale. With many many airlines coming to one area and then getting redistributed across the world, the airports are able to cross-subsidize their own costs and offer lucrative deals to airlines, both their own and foreign, therefore resulting in cheaper tickets compared to direct flights.

The operating cost to manage large aircraft in long-range direct flights continues to remain very high; that is the reason why a Colombo-London-New York flight remains cheaper than Colombo-New York flight any day. The costs; and they matter a lot in airline industry, given their thin profit margins and high overheads.

B787 and A350 aren't exactly cheap to operate. In fact, the maximum number of these jets are being bought by airlines who themselves are from these hub city-states. Dubai, Qatar, Singapore, Abu Dhabi, Kuala Lumpur etc. Look at the number of orders their national carriers are placing for these aircraft. Basically, they are ensuring that other airlines and airports are dependent on the networks THEY provide in the coming years.

Do you really think that an airline using A350 on operating lease would be able to provide economies of scale at least for the next 10-15 years? Fat chance. No airline around the world has that kind of muscle or wherewithal and the era of government-subsidized airlines is almost dead.

Mattala is empty because it is not used for anything profitable. Do you expect an airport sitting close to international tourism zone cannot profit?

Are you suggesting that You can make Mattala a destination airport without cannibalizing your own market of Colombo? DO you really think Colombo authorities would accept that? Also, what exactly are you going to offer airlines that you haven't offered until now?

When your own carriers cannot operate in your own airports, that isn't very motivating for others to take the lead.

Sri Lanka faces no competition from Indian airports despite how "modern" they are. The International passengers arriving in Sri Lanka do not depend upon the quality of Indian airports.

Buddy, there are only 3 reasons why people come to an airport:

1- It is an airport in a city or a country of such economic importance that trade without that area is next to impossible no matter what kind airport infrastructure they have - example London, Paris, Hong Kong etc which are important commercial centres with massive economies to justify their existence

2- The airport is that of a fine leisure destination which offers end to end offerings what can be termed as 'MUST GO'. Examples include airports in the TOP 10 tourism oriented countries around the world by World Tourism Organisation.

3- The airport is located in such a strategic crossing that without transiting from there, no flight is cheap. Examples are Singapore, Dubai, Amsterdam etc.

Colombo fits in the second category whereas Mattala is nowhere among these three.

Do the math.