Nuwara Eliya post office not for sale: Govt

By Ajith Siriwardana   

The government has decided to suspend the decision taken by the previous government to provide the colonial-era Nuwara Eliya post office for a hotel project, Minister Vijitha Herath said.  

Speaking at an event to mark the World Post Day, he said the building and its land area will be allocated only to the Postal Department.   

“The previous government took decisions to forcibly take over the Nuwara Eliya post office premises. We will say with responsibility that it is not the policy of the new President and the government. We will allocate the iconic building and its premises only to the Postal Department’s activities. It will not be given to anyone. We will suspend all decision taken so far with regard to the proposed project,” he said.   

The previous government proposed to provide the Nuwara Eliya post office to a private firm to convert it to a hotel, which encountered strong opposition from postal trade unions.