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13 companies vie for new 4-tower court complex in Hulftsdorp
View(s):Seven Chinese companies are among 13 construction companies that have bid to build a new courts complex in Hulftsdorp, Colombo.
Estimated to cost Rs. 16 billion, the complex is to be designed and built by the developer who will then lease it to the government for 15 years to recover the cost of construction before transferring it to the government. The Justice Ministry has called for tenders for the construction that will include four towers, each comprising 12 storeys. The work on the building to be named “Adikaran piyasa” is scheduled to start by April next year, the Sunday Times learns.
The project proposal forwarded by the bidding companies will be presented to Cabinet for approval after being evaluated by a technical committee.
The new court complex is to be constructed on six acres of land which belonged to the B.C.C. Lanka Ltd. Cabinet approval to acquire the land was given last year. The towers will house High courts, District Courts, Magistrates’ Courts and 40 court rooms, the Justice Ministry and its affiliated institutions, a judges’ training institute, a fully fledged legal institute and a law library.
At present eight High Courts, three Commercial High Courts, and eight District Courts are housed in the High Court Complex, Colombo which was constructed during the colonial days and is now in a state of dilapidation.