The Hon. Harshana Nanayakkara, Attorney-at-Law
The Minister stated that the Galle New Court Complex at Beligaha has not yet commenced operations because the State Engineering Corporation, the contractor, has delayed completion of electrical and mechanical works due to financial difficulties, and courts cannot be relocated in stages. He said completion and handover to the Judiciary are expected by the first week of June 2026. He also explained that the existing Galle Fort court buildings are not owned by the Ministry and, following Cabinet approval, are to be vested in the UDA for proposed development projects, including tourism, while no rental or maintenance loss has arisen to the Government from the delay.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, the answers are as follows:
¶ 02 (a) (i) The State Engineering Corporation of Sri Lanka is the contractor for the Beligaha, Galle New Court Complex. As the Corporation has been facing a severe financial crisis for several years, electrical and mechanical works remain to be completed. Since it is not practically possible to relocate courts in parts, the courts cannot be shifted before full completion of the complex. Therefore, legal proceedings could not be commenced to date.
¶ 03 (ii) All works are planned to be completed by about the first week of June 2026 and the buildings handed over to the Judiciary to commence legal proceedings.
¶ 04 (iii) The buildings currently housing courts in Galle Fort have not been vested in this Ministry and the ownership is not with us. The Urban Development Authority (UDA) has requested that after all courts located in Galle Fort are relocated to the new complex, the Fort buildings be handed over to the UDA for suitable purposes. As ownership is not with this Ministry, the UDA can utilize them for appropriate purposes upon obtaining concurrence from the institutions holding title. The Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development, has already informed us accordingly. Further, pursuant to Cabinet Memorandum No. අමප/26/0624/809/071 dated 2026.04.06 submitted by the Minister of Transport, Highways and Urban Development, approval has been granted to vest the buildings and lands including the High Court and Magistrate’s Court at Galle Fort in the UDA as a free grant under Section 6(1) of the State Lands (Recovery of Possession) Act, for use under proposed development projects including tourism.
¶ 05 (iv) Since none of the courts with facilities in the new complex are currently being conducted in rented premises, there is no loss to the Government due to non-use to date. Some parts of the Beligaha complex are still under construction and the buildings have not yet been handed over to the Ministry; thus, the Ministry does not incur maintenance expenditure.
¶ 06 (b) Not applicable.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Thursday, 21 May 2026 ·No. 23621 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. Harshana Nanayakkara, Attorney-at-Law. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 21 May 2026. No. 23621. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/7305