The Cabinet has entrusted Transport and Civil Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva with the task of finalizing a deal with India to optimize the management of the Mattala International Airport. 

De Silva, a Senior Vice Chairman of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, is a key ally of President Maithripala Sirisena. 

The President, launching into a tirade at the Cabinet meeting last week, criticized the Mattala International Airport being leased out to India. 

"Nimal Siripala de Silva is the subject minister and the matter directly comes under his purview. Therefore, assigning him to the task may be viewed as a genuine move to expedite the deal. At the same time, it is also interesting to see how he expedites the deal while managing the President's interests. The President, at the Cabinet meeting last week, made no secret of his opposition to handing over strategically important projects to India," a source familiar with the matter told Asian Mirror. 

It is also learnt certain "bottlenecks" pertaining to the agreement are yet to be cleared. "The main area of concern is the daily losses that will be incurred by the airport during the initial stage," the source added. 

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) will operate the Mattala International Airport that will be declared open by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa in 2013. 

The private-public partnership will see AAI entering a 40-year lease agreement with the Sri Lankan government to take up the management control of the airport.