COPA uncovers Rs. 2.9 Billion road scam in North Central Province

The Parliamentary Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) has uncovered a massive fraud involving 629 road development projects in the North Central Province.

According to the Committee, these projects, worth over Rs. 2.93 billion, were illegally handed over to a single contractor without calling for tenders.

Committee Chairman MP Aravinda Senarath described the incident as the biggest fraud in Sri Lanka’s road development history, calling it a serious misuse of public funds collected from innocent farmers.

The Committee revealed that back in 2011, the North Central Provincial Council had approved the renovation of 53 roads with an estimated cost of more than Rs. 1.17 billion.

However, instead of spending the usual Rs. 11 million per kilometer, about Rs. 45 million was spent per kilometer.

Despite this high spending, the roads were built without proper standards and have already begun to deteriorate.

In another shocking revelation, COPA reported that Rs. 100 million was paid in advance for an auditorium project valued at Rs. 540 million, meant for a school with fewer than 500 students.

The school has since been abandoned, and the funds have gone to waste.

These findings were shared during a COPA session held on June 18, 2025, at the Parliament of Sri Lanka.

The meeting was chaired by MP Aravinda Senarath and focused on the 2023 Auditor General’s report and the performance of the North Central Provincial Council.

The meeting was attended by top officials, including the Secretary to the Ministry of Public Administration, the Chief Secretary of the North Central Province, and other senior representatives.