COLOMBO, Oct. 28 -- Sri Lanka's finance ministry has identified 2,972 state-owned buildings that are either half-built, unused, or underutilized, prompting the government to explore options to repurpose them for public use, Cabinet Spokesman Vijitha Herath announced on Thursday (28).

Speaking at the weekly Cabinet media briefing, Herath said that large sums of public funds had been invested in constructing these facilities, many of which remain unutilized or abandoned.

"A lot of public resources have gone into building these properties," he said, adding that ministries have been instructed to determine whether they can use these facilities or hand them over to a common agency so they can be put to another purpose.

He also said that the...