The government has taken steps to restart and complete 25 major health sector construction projects that had begun in previous years but were later abandoned midway.
The Ministry of Health and Mass Media said 76 billion rupees will be needed to complete the projects, which are located at major hospitals and health institutions across the country. The programme is being carried out under the guidance of Minister of Health and Mass Media Dr Nalinda Jayatissa.
The projects include construction work that began in 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2024 but was suspended for various reasons. They include the main building of the Ministry of Health and 24 other major development projects identified as essential.
The government allocated 16 billion rupees through the 2025 Budget for the work, while 19 billion rupees has been allocated for 2026. A further 38 billion rupees is expected to be allocated in 2027.
The programme covers buildings and related infrastructure for child and maternal health, cancer treatment, cardiac care, thalassaemia treatment, national health centres, accident and emergency care, staff quarters and environmentally sound waste management.
Under the programme, construction of the maternity and ward complex at De Soysa Hospital for Women, which began in 2019, has now been completed with modern facilities. The allocation for the project was 389 million rupees.
The 12-storey “Little Hearts” Centre at the Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children, which began in 2017, has reached its final stage. The estimated cost of the project is 6.218 billion rupees.
The second phase of the eight-storey cancer treatment unit at the National Cancer Treatment Unit in Kandy, which began in 2016 and was later halted, has now been completed. The allocation from this year’s Budget was 400 million rupees.
Construction is also under way on the 10-storey building and the six-storey cancer unit at the Badulla Teaching Hospital. The present government has allocated 1 billion rupees for the project in 2026.
Several other projects have reached their final stages. These include the Accident and Emergency Treatment Unit, Stage II, at the Jaffna Teaching Hospital; the Surgical Medical Unit at the Karapitiya Teaching Hospital; renal care units in Batticaloa and Hambantota; and the bone marrow transplant unit at the National Hospital in Kandy. A total of 1.75 billion rupees has been allocated for these projects in 2026.
The main office building of the Ministry of Health, which began in 2014 and later stalled, is also nearing completion. The 2026 Budget has allocated 3 billion rupees for this project.
Work is progressing on the diagnostic unit of the National Stroke Centre in Mulleriyawa and on outpatient and accident service units at hospitals in Kegalle, Trincomalee, Ampara, Chilaw and Kandy. The allocation for these projects is 1.75 billion rupees.
A joint project between the government and JICA is also in progress to install and operate 15 incinerators for infectious waste at hospitals before the end of this year. The project has reached its final stage.
Other ongoing projects include the cardiac care complex at Ratnapura Hospital; the four-storey nursing education and administration building in Kalutara; the academic and administration building and nurses’ quarters at the Anuradhapura Nursing School; and the six-storey hostel building at the Faculty of Nursing in Sri Jayewardenepura.
In addition to these projects, more than 8.8 billion rupees has been allocated to modernise and rehabilitate hospital infrastructure. Work on those projects has also begun.
Minister Jayatissa has instructed the relevant officials to complete all construction work quickly and bring the facilities into public use as soon as possible.
