The Hon. (Dr.) Harini Amarasuriya - Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education
The Prime Minister tabled a response regarding a halted auditorium project at a school in the Polonnaruwa Education Zone, initiated in 2017 with an estimated value of about Rs. 542 million. She stated that Rs. 100 million was paid as an advance and Rs. 92 million in bills submitted, but funding allocations stopped amid the dissolution of the North Central Provincial Council, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the economic crisis. She added that the Governor has questioned the project’s necessity and feasibility, and the Chief Secretary has been instructed to plan effective use of the completed sections.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Mr. Speaker, I table the answer.
¶ 02 Answer tabled.
¶ 03 (a) (i) Yes. The school is in the Polonnaruwa Education Zone.
¶ 04 (ii) The project was initiated with a foundation stone laid on 05.04.2017.
¶ 05 (iii) An advance of Rs. 100 million (VAT excluded) was paid; bills amounting to Rs. 92 million have been submitted for work done.
¶ 06 (iv) Yes, construction is currently halted.
¶ 07 (v) The project value is about Rs. 542 million. Funds of Rs. 120 million (2017) and Rs. 5 million (2018) were allocated from the Province-Specific Development Grant, and work commenced. Subsequently, dissolution of the North Central Provincial Council in 2018, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the economic crisis caused funding difficulties, halting progress. The Hon. Governor has questioned the necessity of such an auditorium for this school and the feasibility of funding. The Chief Secretary of the North Central Province has been instructed to prepare plans to utilize completed portions effectively.
¶ 08 (b) Not applicable.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Friday, 6 March 2026 ·No. 23376 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. (Dr.) Harini Amarasuriya - Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 6 March 2026. No. 23376. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/5111