Mattala Airport draws India, China, US and Middle East interest as Sri Lanka weighs foreign investment amid rising geopolitical pressure.
Mattala Airport is once again drawing geopolitical attention as India, China, the United States, and Middle Eastern investors watch Sri Lanka’s next move.
International media once described the Hambantota Port and Mattala Airport as symbols of a Chinese debt trap. In 2017, the Maithri-Ranil government leased the Hambantota Port to China. India strongly opposed that decision, but the government went ahead without reversing course.
Later, in 2024, Ranil Wickremesinghe’s government decided to lease Mattala Airport, widely known as the world’s emptiest airport, to an Indo-Russian joint venture company. That move drew concern from the United States because Washington had already imposed sanctions on the Russian company involved. After Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s government came to power in 2024, the agreement was not implemented.
Following that, during discussions between Sri Lanka and the United States over Trump’s tariffs, American interest in Mattala Airport became visible. Anura’s government then decided to invite foreign investments to manage the airport. India and China have both shown interest, while the entry of Middle Eastern companies has become a new development. Recently, the UAE ambassador to Sri Lanka met Trade Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe and expressed interest in the Colombo Port and Sri Lanka’s aviation sector. A few days ago, Ports and Aviation Minister Anura Karunatilaka also spoke highly of Middle Eastern interest in Mattala Airport.
The government must clearly understand the geopolitical battle that could emerge if India and China compete for control of Mattala Airport. This is an airport built by China. India previously objected to the Chinese-built Hambantota Port being leased to China. Although China has signed an agreement with the government to build an oil refinery in Hambantota, it has still not been implemented. India is unlikely to accept both Hambantota Port and the airport coming under Chinese control. At the same time, it is difficult to believe China would accept India controlling an airport located beside a port already controlled by China.
It remains unclear whether Anura’s government is trying to avoid this India-China clash by handing Mattala Airport management to a Middle Eastern company.
