Govt. apartment complexes over 40 years old in Colombo to be redeveloped next year: NHDA

Thursday, 21 August 2025 04:34 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

MP S.M. Marikkar

The National Housing Development Authority (NHDA) officials recently disclosed that the Government apartment complexes in the Colombo District over 40 years old, are planned to be redeveloped next year.

This was revealed during a meeting of the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Infrastructure and Strategic Development held in Parliament recently, Chaired by MP S.M. Marikkar.

The officials informed the committee that there are 45 apartment housing projects over 40 years old within the Colombo District, comprising around 10,000 housing units.

Accordingly, the committee Chairman instructed the officials to submit a report within a month detailing how these redevelopment projects will be implemented, including decisions regarding current residents of those housing complexes.

The officials stated that technical and valuation reports on the current condition of the buildings in these complexes will be obtained and that the redevelopment projects are expected to be implemented under a public-private partnership model. Based on that, the chairman also instructed that a comprehensive report including all relevant information be submitted to the Sectoral Oversight Committee.

Additionally, the officials pointed out that there are around 45,000 housing units that were initiated between 2015 and 2019 but were abandoned due to various reasons. A plan has now been formulated to complete the construction of these houses within three years.

The meeting also included discussions on the need to increase investments in condominium development projects, and the officials drew the committee’s attention to the challenges faced in attracting investment in this sector. Consequently, the chairman instructed the Ministry of Urban Development, Construction and Housing to propose a legally viable mechanism to facilitate coordination between different ministries and expedite the issuance of necessary permits to resolve these issues and implement the projects effectively.

Meanwhile, the Sectoral Oversight Committee also instructed the Urban Development Authority (UDA) to explore the possibility of expanding the “One Stop Shop” project, currently being implemented by the UDA in the Western Province, to other regions of the country.

MPs Manjula Suraveera Arachchi, Ravindra Bandara, Jagath Vithana, and Geetha Herath, Attorney at Law, along with officials representing the Urban Development, Construction and Housing Ministry, the NHDA, the UDA, the Condominium Management Authority, and the Condominium Developers Association of Sri Lanka were present at this meeting.