Akuregoda Defence Headquarters Building becomes a white elephant

It will be a bitter pill for Sri Lankans to swallow as the controversial Pentagon- styled Defence headquarters building complex at Akuregoda, Battaramulla is becoming a white elephant spending millions of rupees from the country’s taxpayer money, a senior cabinet minister revealed in Colombo.

The project was launched in 2011 at an estimated cost of Rs.8 billion to house the army, navy and air force headquarters moving from Galle Face Green and For t to Battaramulla, under a Government plan to shift all government administrative complexes to the same area, Minister of Megapolis and Western Development, Patali Champika Ranawaka said, under whose purview the Urban Development Authority ( which owns this land) comes. Under the plan of the former regime, the project should have been completed in 2018.

However the Minister told the Business Times that a sum of Rs.64 billion has been spent so far on this ‘ white elephant’ project while another Rs. 100 billion is needed to complete the massive project.

Treasury sources said that project work will resume if and when money is raised for the project with the likelihood of work being disrupted on-and-or based on budgetary constraints.

The project commenced during the tenure of former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the cost estimate went up to Rs.20 billion. Money for the project came from US$ 125 million earned in the sale of the Galle Face land to Shangri-La Hotel.

Following the 2015 election, construction of this complex temporary halted due to non- availability of funds. Construction work resumed on the directions of the President but was suspended due to a probe into irregularities by the former regime, he said.

In the meantime these forces have been provided with temporary accommodation in 15 rented buildings at an annual rent of Rs.5 billon, he said adding that the abrupt and unplanned decision taken by the previous regime to shift the Defence headquarters to Akuregoda has put future generations under a heavy debt burden.

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