|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
| Saturday, 29 May 2004 |
 |
|
 |
News | |
| News Business Features Editorial Security Politics World Letters Sports Obituaries
|
New flight kitchen for BIA by Uditha Kumarasinghe The groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the new Flight Kitchen Project of SriLankan Airlines estimated to cost US $ 25 million was held yesterday at Katunayake. This state-of-the-art facility will have the capacity to produce 4.75 million meals per year compared to the existing capacity of 1.65 million meals. The 143,000 square feet building will be spread over five acres on the airport premises with entrance from the Katunayake-Minuwangoda road. It is scheduled to be completed in September 2005. According to the CEO of SriLankan Catering Dilip Nijhawan this new facility will allow Sri Lankan Catering to exploit many opportunities identified in the market. "We hope to propel the company into the future as the leader in airline catering in the Asian region." SriLankan Catering Services is the catering arm of the SriLankan Airlines Group and provides catering services for flights of all airlines that use the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA). It became the first airline catering service in the South Asia/Southeast region last year to be awarded the prestigious ISO 9001:2000 certification, said Nijhawan. The groundbreaking ceremony of the project was took place under the patronage of Ports and Aviation Deputy Minister Dayasritha Tissera, Industries, Tourism and Investment Promotion Deputy Minister Arjuna Ranatunga, SriLankan Airlines Group Chairman Kusumsiri Balapatabendi, SriLankan Airlines CEO Peter Hill and SriLankan Catering CEO Dilip Nijhawan. A large number of SriLankan Airlines staff and Aviation officials were also graced the occasion. Deputy Minister Dayashritha Thisera addressing the inauguration ceremony said according to the agreement signed between the Government and Japan in 1999, Japan has pledged US$ 100 million to develop the BIA. This project is being successfully carried out. See page 18 "Under this development project, we will be able to see a modernised airport in September next year," he said. He said this project will not only provide the best service to the passengers from the BIA but also bring international fame to the country. The BIA will also turn into the largest airport in the region within next two years. The Government has made arrangements to commence domestic flight operations and establish an international airport in the Southern Province in future, he said. SriLankan Airlines Chairman Balapatabendi said a stable situation is prevailing in the country, which is conducive for projects of this nature. Catering services and cargo handling were the two main projects of the airline which bring a lot of revenue to the country. "Initially we started catering to only three flights of then AirLanka. At that time we had only 217 employees in the catering sector. Now SriLankan Catering has over 600 employees so far. More than 18 International Airlines now serve the BIA. We make nearly 10,000 meals per day," he said. He said SriLankan Airlines with the collaboration of Emirates has grown steadily. "The Flight Kitchen Project has to grow very fast to keep in line with the global international situation. We have the best airline catering service in the Asian region. Catering has brought lot of profits to the airline. The SriLankan Airlines staff have contributed a lot to the progress of this project," he added. |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security
Produced by Lake House |
