Nimal Siripala de Silva said that the deal with an Indian company to operate the airport is purely a business deal. The airport has been running at a loss since it was launched and all scheduled flights to the airport had also come to a halt. The Government says the Mattala airport deal with India has several pre-conditions.Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation Nimal Siripala de Silva said that among the pre-conditions in the agreement is that the airport can only be used for commercial operations and not military operations. Under the agreement being discussed with India the Indian company will receive 70% while Sri Lanka receives 30% of management rights. (Colombo Gazette) The airport, constructed with Chinese funding, has however been used when flights are diverted from the Katunayake airport.Nimal Siripala de Silva said that the deal to operate the airport and make it profitable was first offered to local investors and even China yet the proposals received were not acceptable so Sri Lanka turned to India. read more