Ratmalana

Ratmalana is an established suburb on Colombo's southern coast, about 14.6 km south of Colombo Fort by road, inside the Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia Municipal Council in Colombo District. It sits between Mount Lavinia to the north and Moratuwa to the south, with Galle Road (A2) running through it.

The suburb is best known for Ratmalana Airport, Sri Lanka's first airport, which opened in 1935 and carried the country's main international traffic until Bandaranaike International Airport opened in 1967. Its single runway, 1,833 metres long, now handles domestic charters, corporate jets and Air Force operations, and a service to Male resumed scheduled international flights in 2022 after a gap of several decades. Ratmalana is also the base of the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University at Kandawala, a joint-services academy that became a university in 2007, and of Maliban's biscuit manufacturing headquarters.

Ratmalana has its own Coastal Line station, about 16 km from Colombo Fort by rail, with Mount Lavinia the next station to the north. The nearest Southern Expressway entry is at Kottawa, about 13.5 km away by road. Galle Road is the main route through the suburb and carries heavy traffic at peak times.

The University of Moratuwa and Colombo South Teaching Hospital at Kalubowila are both within reach, and the Sri Lanka Air Force Museum, reopened in 2009, sits beside the airport. Bellanwila Rajamaha Viharaya, a Buddhist temple, lies a few kilometres inland. Shopping is centred on Galle Road, with outlets such as Cargills Square and Singer Mega serving day-to-day needs.

Ratmalana Airport's master plan for 2018 to 2030 sets out proposals to grow the airport as a domestic aviation hub for business jets, corporate travel and leisure flying, alongside its existing charter and Air Force role; this remains a staged, long-term plan rather than a completed project. New residential developments in Ratmalana are listed further down this page.

Ratmalana tends to suit buyers who want a coastal address with an established institutional base nearby: staff and cadets connected to the Kotelawala Defence University, workers at Maliban and other local manufacturers, and commuters who use Galle Road or the Coastal Line to reach Mount Lavinia, Moratuwa or central Colombo.