The Lotus Tower, the tallest tower in South Asia standing at 356-meter, remains closed to the public despite an official opening ceremony in September and will be run by the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL), which is under the control of the Defence Ministry.
P R S P Jayatilake, Chairman of the TRCSL, has claimed that the use of the military will only be temporary but has not stated when it will be accessible to the public.
Approval to establish a state-controlled enterprise which would operate the Lotus tower and its finances was granted in September however the company has yet to be formed. P R S P Jayatilake has told reporters that the proposal lies with the Finance Ministry who must now nominate the directors.
The construction of the Lotus Tower has been marked with allegations of corruption as one of the Chinese construction companies, Aerospace Long March International Trade Co. Ltd (ALIT), had disappeared along with Rs. 2 billion - worth more than $11 million.
Read more here: Sri Lanka’s tallest tower opens amidst Chinese corruption claims
There have also been excessive delays in the construction as a full contraction loan could not be obtained. The Export Import Bank of China (EXIM) only granted US$ 67,259,754 however, the Sunday Times reports that the Sri Lankan government has overpaid by US$ 636,508 or RS 91.88mn
The Lotus flower is a symbol of Buddhist nationalist identity
According to a government released concept video;
“In Sri Lanka, the Buddhist kingdom, with great desire of peace and development the lotus is considered as the flower which symbolises pure, clean and honest.”
Read more here: ‘Lotus Tower’ construction commences in the Buddhist kingdom
Read Sunday Times reporting here.
