The newly constructed ‘Emigration Hall’ at the departure passenger terminal of Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) was declared open today by the Minister of Tourism Prasanna Ranatunga.

Under the BIA Terminal 1 expansion project, 23 new emigration counters have been added at Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) and this expansion project was completely funded by the Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) (Private) Limited at a cost Rs. 430 million. 

“This improved and expanded design offers a new experience to our valued passengers on their happy journey through BIA,” AASL said in a statement said. 

Under this project AASL has enhanced the operational area of terminal 1 by constructing a steel structured floor in the double-height void area of the Departure check-in area with all finishes, Air-Conditioning system, Telephone & Data and extended checking area towards VIP with an additional 03 storied building including   2 escalators, 01 elevators, a staircase. Further, 5 additional check-in counters with an extended belt are provided to facilitate the passengers. 

New areas for shops and restaurants have been added with all services. In addition, new office areas for Emigration and SIS have been constructed with the full facility to uplift the services to the passengers.

AASL says it is continuing the major infrastructure development projects at BIA, as it is imperative to increase the capacity of the BIA to accommodate the expected increase in the annual passenger capacity to 20 million passengers by 2025.

The passenger handling capacity has been a major issue at BIA as the existing passenger terminal building has been built to handle only 6 million passengers per annum. Accordingly, now extended the number of emigration counters and equipped them with the latest technology to facilitate faster clearance procedures at BIA and it will reduce overcrowding and delays at the airport after a long flight and enable the passenger a hassle-free exit to reach their final destination.

Namal Rajapaksa, Minister of Youth & Sports/ State Minister of  Digital Technology and Enterprise Development, D. V. Chanaka, State Minister of Aviation and Export Zones Development, Major General (Rtd) G.A. Chandrasiri, Chairman AASL, Mr. Rajiv Sooriyaarachchi, Vice Chairman-AASL and the members of the Board of Directors of Airport Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) (Private) Limited (AASL) and other distinguished guests had also participated in the event.