Lotus Tower project: Another white elephant?

by Sureshni Pilapitiya

Work on the Rs. 104 Billion Lotus Tower is continuing although officials claim the future of the project was still under discussion and a decision had not been taken. This was the indeterminate status of this expensive project last week when the Sunday Observer first reported on it and it remains the same.

When interviewed by the Sunday Observer last week ( see report "Lotus Tower- A lone sentinel- to be or not to be ?") , the Director General of the Telecommunication and Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL), M. M Zuhair said that '' the project is under discussion and no decision has been taken on its' future. ''

At that time TRCSL Director General Zuhair was reluctant to give detailed information on the continuity of this high cost project and any problems associated with it. Instead he asked the Sunday Observer to check everything this week.

Approached for an update this week, however Zuhair said the project was "under discussion till further notice.

There are certain aspects which should be looked into'', he said. The media will be informed once everything is cleared and after the final decision is taken" he said. Trade Unions too, seem to favour the continuation of the project , despite questions raised about over valuation of the project budget. National Postal and Telecommunications Services Trade Union Secretary T. A Gunathillake told the Sunday Observer that the project should continue as planned.

Much controversy has been going on regarding the Lotus Tower Project ever since it began. Along with the change of Government, there was a question if the construction work will continue or not. There is a lot of work still to be completed. The site engineer has still not received any instructions to the contrary , and work construction is still going on as usual. So the question arises again what will become of the Lotus Tower which was supposed to be a magnificent land mark building in the heart of Colombo, during the previous regime. Not only the Lotus Tower, a decision will be taken about a number of buildings which were under construction within the Colombo area as to whether they should continue with the work process or not. If some decision is not taken by the relevant authorities regarding these construction sites fast they will be a waste of energy and the economy.