Sri Lanka to redevelop 40-year-old Colombo apartments from 2026

Government apartment complexes in the Colombo District that are over 40 years old will be redeveloped starting next year, officials from the National Housing Development Authority (NHDA) have announced.

The plan was revealed during a meeting of the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Infrastructure and Strategic Development, held in Parliament of Sri Lanka on August 6, 2025 and chaired by MP S.M. Marikkar.

According to officials, there are 45 government apartment projects in the district, each more than four decades old, comprising around 10,000 housing units. The committee chairman instructed the NHDA to submit a detailed report within one month outlining how the redevelopment will be carried out, including arrangements for the current residents.

Officials said technical and valuation reports on the buildings’ current condition will be obtained. The redevelopment will be implemented under a public-private partnership model. The chairman requested that a comprehensive report with all relevant information be submitted to the committee.

The NHDA also informed the committee that about 45,000 housing units, started between 2015 and 2019 but abandoned for various reasons, will be completed within the next three years under a new plan.

Discussions also focused on boosting investment in condominium development projects. Officials highlighted difficulties in attracting investors to the sector. The committee instructed the Ministry of Urban Development, Construction and Housing to propose a legal framework to improve coordination among ministries and speed up the approval process for these projects.

Additionally, the committee asked the Urban Development Authority (UDA) to consider expanding its “One Stop Shop” service currently available in the Western Province to other regions of the country.

MPs Manjula Suraveera Arachchi, Ravindra Bandara, Jagath Vithana, and Geetha Herath (Attorney-at-Law) attended the meeting, along with officials from the Ministry of Urban Development, Construction and Housing, National Housing Development Authority (NHDA), Urban Development Authority (UDA), the Condominium Management Authority, and the Condominium Developers Association of Sri Lanka.