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Diyagama Mahinda Rajapaksa Sports Complex: Yet another vanity project wasted

31 Jul 2022

  • 126-acre sports complex in dilapidated state
By Maheesha Mudugamuwa The newly-built, multi-million-rupee, state-of-the-art swimming pool at the Diyagama Mahinda Rajapaksa Sports Complex has now been transformed into a fish tank, abandoned ever since it was constructed. The artificial running tracks that were used only on a few occasions are also in dire need of refurbishment. Thus, yet another mega development project constructed by spending millions is going to waste, slowly yet surely falling apart. Although the complex was said to have been built using donations from a foundation owned by the Rajapaksa family – the Mahinda Rajapaksa Sports Development Foundation – it is not clear how the funds were allocated for the construction of the complex, nor is it clear whether the entire complex had been built using these funds or whether taxpayer money had also been utilised towards this end. The Diyagama Mahinda Rajapaksa Sports Complex, located on a land which spans 126 acres and containing nine synthetic 400 m lanes, is Sri Lanka’s second such facility after the Sugathadasa Stadium was declared open in 2010.  The 7th Engineering Service Regiment of the Sri Lanka Army managed to complete the initial stage of the construction of the Sports Complex at a cost of Rs. 118 million, as opposed to the initial estimated cost of Rs. 390 million. The construction work on the international stadium commenced in 2008, but was halted halfway through. Again, in 2018, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Ministry of Sports and the Sri Lanka Army was signed to develop the complex by 2020 at an estimated cost of Rs. 7,500 million. Area residents kept out The facility consists of an athletic ground, football and rugby fields, and a pavilion with a 3,000 seating capacity. Yet, residents of Diyagama claim that the facility has been seen in operation only on very limited occasions. “We have requested the authorities to permit us to use the facility for athletic rehearsals, but they never allowed us to use the facility. Ever since it was opened, we haven’t seen it functioning at full scale,” Kanchana Perera, an athlete and a Diyagama resident, told The Sunday Morning. He added that the abandoning of the Diyagama Mahinda Rajapaksa Sports Complex was a national crime as there were a number of athletes, especially those who lived around the complex, who lacked  facilities to engage in sports practices. Speaking to The Sunday Morning, an athletic coach who wished to remain anonymous said that they had raised concerns over the abandoning of the sports complex at a time when the athletes were suffering from the lack of proper infrastructure to engage in regular sports practices. “They have wasted money on this project,” the coach emphasised. Most parts of the sports facility, which was established in 2010, are now in ruins due to negligence and lack of proper maintenance.  Construction of sub-projects ongoing The construction work of the Diyagama International Sports Complex had been entrusted to the Army 7th (SEC) Engineering Services Regiment since 2017 as per a Cabinet decision given on 14 September 2016. Accordingly, this sports complex was taken over by the Ministry of Sports. Since then, the Army commenced the administration and maintenance of the complex through the Ministry of Sports. It was previously under the purview of the respective Divisional Secretariat. However, when it was suggested that it be brought under the purview of the Sports Ministry, then Sports Minister Dayasiri Jayasekara had suggested a representative from the Rajapaksa Foundation to be appointed to its Board of Directors.  The complex had been built using only financial and material assistance reviewed by the Mahinda Rajapaksa Sports Development Foundation. Initially, 11 sub-projects belonging to the Diyagama International Sports Complex had been identified, while seven new sub-projects had been identified during the administration of former Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa. The sub-projects included the construction of a 400 m artificial running track, a small auditorium, a toilet system, swimming pool, cricket grounds, rugby field, shooting range, archery field, sports university, equestrian grounds, and safety fences, as well as the renovation of the administrative building, improving the baseball field, renovation of the kitchen and restaurant, and a generator installation project.  On 18 March 2020, as proposed in the ‘National Policy Framework: Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour,’ the proposal made by the then Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs to take the necessary steps to revise and develop the plans of the said sports complex, enabling the establishment of a National Sports University, was approved by the Cabinet. Similarly, the proposal made by the Minister to appoint a Committee of Experts under the Chairmanship of Dr. Chandra Embuldeniya – the first Vice Chancellor of the Uva Wellassa University – to make a study of all matters relating to the process of establishing the proposed Sports University and submit recommendations was also approved by the Cabinet. Complicated history of financial allocations  Despite the fact that the complex had been built by the Rajapaksa Foundation, in the audit query conducted by National Audit Office (NAO) on the National Sports Fund (NSF) in 2018, it was revealed that there had been an increase of expenditure of the Diyagama Mahinda Rajapaksa Sports Complex by Rs. 3,898,011. Similarly, the audit query conducted by the NAO in 2017 had revealed that as per the financial statements, the income of the Diyagama Mahinda Rajapaksa Sports Complex for the year under review (2017) had been Rs. 5,158,385. The income according to the monthly reports including income credit detail sent to the Ministry by the project manager of the complex had been recorded as Rs. 5,083,640, and thus a difference of Rs. 74,745 was observed. Furthermore, in the Vote on Account submitted in 2019, an allocation of Rs. 15 million had been made to the Diyagama Mahinda Rajapaksa National Sports Academy for the construction of buildings and structures under the Ministry of Telecommunication, Digital Infrastructure, Foreign Employment, and Sports. It had also been proposed in the Budget 2021 to allocate additional provisions amounting to Rs. 2,000 million as the initial investment to establish a sports complex for the 2032 Olympics training purposes. Further, it was proposed to establish a sports economy worth $ 1,000 million by 2025, with programmes to be initiated to establish synthetic tracks in Kurunegala, Jaffna, Torrington, Bogambara, and Diyagama sports complexes. In 2018, then Sports Minister Dayasiri Jayasekara stated that out of the allocations made to the Ministry of Sports, Rs. 310 million has been allocated for this artificial track. He also stated that the swimming pool did not meet international standards and had many shortcomings. Moreover, the international stadium had been built at a height of 11 m, whereas it needed a height of 13 m to meet international requirements. The development of Diyagama Sports Complex was also included in the Homagama Development Plan 2019-2030 of the Urban Development Authority (UDA). Meanwhile, when contacted by The Sunday Morning, Sports Ministry Secretary Dr. Amal Harsha de Silva stressed that Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe had already drawn his attention to the abandoned facility in Diyagama. “We are looking at all possible avenues to use the sports complex for the betterment of the country’s national sports,” he said, adding that a meeting would be held next week to further discuss the actions to be taken to revive this national asset.  


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