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    ‘The biggest game changer in 100 years’: Chinese money gushes into Sri Lanka

    Beijing is spreading its influence across the region with huge investments – much to the worry of India and the west
    by Michael Safi in Hambantota and Amantha Perera Mar 26, 2018 4 minutes
    Mattala Rakapaksa airport, built with Chinese loans, handles 50,000 passengers a year, a fraction of its capacity of 1 million. Photograph: Michael Safi

    Little disturbs the serenity of Guan Yin, the bodhisattva of compassion, as her statue sits in contemplation at the centre of Mattala Rajapaksa international airport.

    The last flight from the airport departed at 7.50am. The next is scheduled for 7.50am tomorrow. In the meantime check-in counters are empty, car rental desks deserted, and the only sign of life a handful of staff laughing around an information desk who disperse when a visitor arrives.

    Built to handle one million passengers each year, Mattala Rajapaksa saw just over 50,000 people in 2017. Since it opened four years ago the gleaming facility in Hambantota district, on Sri Lanka’s south coast, has become known as the emptiest international airport in the world.

    Mattala Rajapaksa airport
    Mattala Rajapaksa airport in southern

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