The new government led by the National People’s Power (NPP) has paused the previous administration’s plans to relocate the President’s House, Temple Trees, the Prime Minister’s office, and the Presidential Secretariat to Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte, according to a high-ranking source.
The former government aimed to move these offices to develop their current sites into a tourism-focused Colombo Heritage Square, with funding allocated in the 2025 budget for the project. However, an official from the Urban Development Ministry stated that the current government has put this initiative on hold, and no final decision has been made regarding alternative uses for the sites.
Previously, plans were in place to construct a new President’s House in Madiwela, near the parliamentary complex—a project originally initiated by former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga. The subsequent governments did not prioritize it until the last administration under former President Ranil Wickremesinghe decided to revisit and scale down the project.
A source indicated that the land designated for this project may now be transformed into a bird park instead. The new government has also abandoned several similar initiatives from the previous administration, including plans to repurpose the iconic post office building in Nuwara-Eliya for tourism, which will now remain dedicated to the Postal Department.
Additionally, the government under President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has opted to utilize state bungalows for economic purposes rather than reserving them as official residences for ministers.
