A project is under way to restore ancient Dutch buildings in the Galle Fort area for posterity, by retaining their uniqueness.
The buildings have been selected for restoration on the basis of a text titled “Ancient Ceylon”, Volume 15, and a study of old writings relating to the Fort carried out by the Ruhunu University. Estimates of the cost of the restoration project and supervisory work will be the responsibility of the architecture department of the University of Moratuwa.
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| A Dutch-style house restored to its former look |
Under the project, 30 houses have already been renovated under the supervision of Tharanga Liyanarachchi of the Galle Heritage Foundation, while 16 more are in the process of being renovated. 14 more houses have been selected to receive attention later. The first stage of the project will cover 60 houses and would be funded by the Netherlands-Sri Lanka coordinating program at a cost of over Rs. 51 million.
Another 100 houses in the Fort have been identified as needing renovation.
In 1988 UNESCO had identified the Galle Fort area which is around 92 acres in extent, as the 38th site under the World Heritage programme.
There are about 350 houses in this area where about 2000 people live while there are about 600 buildings belonging to the Portuguese, Dutch and British periods.
A team of 31 consisting of specialized craftsmen, painters, etc., is to attend to the restoration work. | 
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