Parliament is to purchase a new generator spending Rs. 90 million.
A senior Parliament official told the Daily News that the purchasing process would start after the New Year holidays.
He said the existing generator at Parliament is 37-years-old and its capacity is not enough.
“We pay Rs 1.5 million monthly to the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) for the maintenance of the existing generator. It has now been decided to buy a new generator and then we can maintain it by ourselves.
This was approved by a Parliament Committee chaired by Speaker Karu Jayasuriya on April 5. The Finance Minister, Leader of the House and Opposition Leader are also members of this committee,” he said.
He said that a new CCTV system would also be fixed in the Parliament premises spending Rs.110 million. “It includes 235 security cameras and those will be fixed in Parliament corridors and adjoining areas.
The tender in this regard has already been awarded to the Hayleys PLC. The work will start after the New Year holidays,” he said.
He said Rs.500 million has been allocated this year for the refurbishment of Parliament building and the above expenses would be borne from that. He said the Urban Development Authority (UDA) has been asked to renovate the toilet system in the entire Parliament complex.
He said two new buildings would be constructed at the Jayanthipura and Madiwela entrance points to Parliament to provide accommodation to MPs’ security guards.
Plans to install new lifts shelved
The decision to install 10 new lifts in Parliament at a cost of about Rs.100 million has been shelved.
A senior Parliament official told the Daily News that a unanimous decision has been taken not to proceed with the project when a Parliament Committee chaired by Speaker Karu Jayasuriya met on April 5. The Finance Minister, Leader of the House and Opposition Leader are also members of this committee.
The conditions of the lifts were checked after the incident of 12MPs getting stuck in the Parliament VIP lift in February, and subsequently a decision was taken to replace them with new lifts stating that the existing ones were 36-years-old.
“That incident was a result of overloading. Usually not more than 7-8 MPs go in them at once. The Committee decided that the existing lifts can continue to be used,” he said.
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