President to open new Customs Hqrs in June
by Kurulu Kariyakarawana
President Mahinda Rajapaksa will open the new building to house the
Sri Lanka Customs Headquarters at Chalmers Jetty on June 23, Customs
sources said. The much anticipated official opening of the building will
take place along with the launch of the first ever Customs museum in the
world to showcase its long-standing history in the country and exhibit
the samples of various unlawful items detected in the course of time.
Construction work on the massive building at the Chalmers Jetty in
Fort bordering the Beira Lake on one side commenced in 2010 and was
completed in 2012. With an estimated construction cost of Rs.4.5 billion
the state-of-the-art building awaited an official opening up to now.
The Customs museum will also exhibit items that had been recovered in
various detections throughout the country.
Contraband related to wildlife, antiques and artefacts that were
seized while being attempted to be smuggled out of the country will be
exhibited in the museum.
Dangerous substances such as narcotics and other precious items
including jewellery and gems will also be displayed. |