• For those who work in Col. and have to travel to work daily 
• Contract to permit apartment retention until retirement 
• Money for same likely to come from 2027 Budget 

The Housing, Construction, and Water Supply Ministry said they are planning to provide more affordable apartment complexes for residents in Colombo, competing against the private sector with the intention of making the City more affordable. 

Speaking to The Daily Morning, the Deputy Minister T.B. Sarath said the Government is planning to build apartments with affordable prices in Colombo in competition with the private sector. "Further, in this year’s (2026) Budget, we have allocated money to build 3,000 houses for lower-income and middle-income families," he added. He said the Government plans to build apartments for people who work in Colombo have to travel daily from elsewhere to work, with a contract allowing them to retain the apartments until their retirement date. "We haven’t allocated money for this project in the 2026 Budget, but we will attempt to allocate money in 2027," he said. He further said the Government has plans to build apartment complexes for artistes with no stable residence in Sri Lanka as well.

The latest Numbeo Property Prices Index has identified Colombo as one of the most unaffordable cities in the world among 395 cities that have been considered in the study. The price-to-income ratio, which is a fundamental measure of housing affordability, calculating the ratio of median apartment prices to the median familial disposable income, is reported to be high in Colombo, scoring 55.1. This suggests that it would take over half a century of a household’s entire income to purchase a standard apartment, assuming no other expenses.