📈 BIA Terminal 2 Construction Set to Restart in November

The Government of Sri Lanka and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) have targeted November 2026 to officially restart the stalled construction of Terminal 2 at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA). • Overall Project & Funding Framework • The multi-level terminal expansion project, heavily tied to Sri Lanka's tourism and infrastructure growth, was initially halted due to a JICA funding freeze following the country's sovereign debt default. • Total funding previously involved a JICA Special Terms for Economic Partnership (STEP) concessionary ODA loan of ¥ 74.4 Bn (approx. Rs. 131.5 Bn) at a 0.1% annual interest rate, with Airport and Aviation Services Sri Lanka (AASL) contributing Rs. 21.5 Bn. • The government is finalizing agreements with JICA to bridge gap financing for increased project costs. • Construction & Timeline Details • Work is set to resume by late October or November 2026, with an estimated timeline of 30 months required by the incoming contractor to achieve full completion. • To date, only about 30% of the total project (primarily the sub-structure under Package A) has been completed. • Once fully functional, the new terminal aims to expand BIA’s total handling capacity from 6 million to 16 million passengers annually. • Procurement Status • Authorities are in the final stages of evaluating bids submitted by two prospective Japanese contractors. • Contract finalization will proceed immediately after JICA's pending technical concurrence and the subsequent opening of financial bids. _Note: Based on provisional institutional data and ongoing bilateral procurement updates._