Airport authorities said the relocation of currency exchange counters became necessary as part of the ongoing development of the arrivals terminal. The earlier contractual arrangements were discontinued after the Airports and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) (Private) Limited was unable to reach agreement with existing operators on the monthly fees applicable for the newly allocated locations.
Subsequently, a limited competitive bidding process was carried out, inviting bids from institutions authorised by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka to operate foreign exchange counters at the arrivals terminal for a three-year period. Five bids were received and evaluated by the High-Level Standing Procurement Committee.
Based on its recommendations, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal submitted by the Minister of Ports and Civil Aviation to award contracts for five counters to leading state and private sector financial institutions.
Accordingly, the Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC, Bank of Ceylon, Thomas Cook Lanka (Pvt.) Ltd, Sampath Bank PLC and People’s Bank have been selected to operate the counters for a period of three years, with contract values ranging from Rs. 631.61 million to Rs. 972.77 million, subject to applicable taxes.
Authorities said the new arrangements are aimed at ensuring uninterrupted foreign exchange services for arriving passengers while aligning airport operations with the upgraded arrivals terminal layout.
