Sri Lanka's sports ministry has reversed an earlier decision to abandon a proposed cricket ground in Jaffna, Sportstar reported. Sports Minister Sunil Kumara Gamage visited the site at Mandaitivu and told reporters that construction was set to begin.
"We have obtained all necessary approvals. Contracts for construction have been awarded," Gamage was quoted as saying in a ministry release.
Sportstar reported that work would start next week; Newswire, a Sri Lankan outlet, quoted Gamage as saying construction should begin within the next few weeks and that the stadium is expected to be finished within a year.
How it stalled
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake laid the foundation stone in September 2025, when Shammi Silva headed Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC). The plan set aside 40 acres for the ground, and Silva had assured the President that the first international match would be played there by December 2026, though it was never officially designated an international venue.
In February this year, the Central Environmental Authority ordered work halted until environmental safeguards were in place. Gamage told Newswire that the delay came from difficulties in obtaining several environmental reports.
Silva and his fellow administrators resigned in April, and Gamage appointed an interim committee to run SLC. In late June, that committee announced the project would not go ahead, citing a shortage of funds.
Why it matters: what changed
The decision to drop the ground came from the cricket board's interim committee; the reversal has come from the sports ministry itself, with the minister saying the approvals are now in place and contracts have been awarded. Neither report says how the funding shortage cited in June was resolved.