The Bogambara Prison premises in Kandy will be returned to the tourism authorities by next year, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism Prof. Ruwan Ranasinghe said, Hiru News reported on Monday.
“We will get back the Bogambara Prison premises soon and then it will be used for tourism development,” Ranasinghe said.
The historic site had been earmarked for tourism development but is currently being used to house inmates on a temporary basis following a series of riots, he said.
A fresh tender, not the Hilton plan
The previous government identified the Bogambara premises for tourism development and the property was subsequently earmarked for the Melwa Group to develop a Hilton hotel, according to Hiru’s report.
Ranasinghe said he was not aware of any such development taking place.
“We will call for a fresh RFP for this project as there are a lot of new investors who are keen,” he said.
That is the substance of the announcement. A deputy minister saying he is unaware of a previously assigned project and that a new request for proposals will be issued indicates the earlier arrangement is not being carried forward, though Hiru’s report does not say whether the Melwa Group’s designation has been formally cancelled, whether an agreement was ever signed, or whether the company has been notified.
Why the prison is holding inmates
The site’s use as a prison is a recent reversal. Bogambara had been closed and identified as a tourism development site, but was re-gazetted as a prison and brought back into use to hold inmates temporarily while the Negombo Prison was repaired after a riot there.
Monday’s statement is the first indication of when that temporary arrangement is expected to end. It implies the Negombo repairs — or some other accommodation for the transferred inmates — are expected to be complete within the next year, though Ranasinghe did not say so directly and Hiru’s report does not connect the two timelines.
What has not been reported
Hiru’s account is the only report of the statement by a verified newsroom. Ada Derana, the Daily Mirror, NewsFirst, EconomyNext and Colombo Gazette had not carried it at the time of writing.
Ranasinghe did not give a date for the handover beyond “by next year”, say when the fresh request for proposals will be issued or on what terms, or identify the “new investors” he described as keen. He did not say what becomes of the inmates currently held there, or which agency — the Urban Development Authority, the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority or another body — will take custody of the site. Nor did he place a value on the project.
