The 36-acre former Veytex textile industry complex with more than 15 buildings at Veyangoda, remained abandoned and unattended for more than a decade, was put to good use by the Army after the premises were vested in the Army last year.
Fulfilling a much-needed requirement of the Army, the Commander of the Army Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya wanted the complex be converted to a technically sound state of the art new ammunition dump plus a modern storage for Army uniforms and clothes since the Army’s existing facilities for both these purposes continue to remain substandard and inadequate.
More significantly, the Army has already begun the process of producing drill ammunition here for training purposes on special directions, given by the Commander of the Army, thereby saving a considerable portion of foreign exchange to the country. To this date, ammunition rounds for training purposes are also imported by tri-services at a heavy cost.
Late February last year, Army troops after taking over the abandoned premises, replete with wild bushes and shrubs by then, toiled hard for months and made the entire compound clean and started renovating the entire building complex for re-use.
Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya, Commander of the Army on Monday (27) made a surprise visit to the complex with the intention of reviewing its ongoing renovation programme and planning the shift of the existing ammunition dump to the new venue on a staggered basis.
The Army Chief taking a close look in and around the entire premises in the company of several senior officers wanted the entire project to be completed and a separate unit for production of training ammunition rounds be exclusively established inside before the end of the year.
Major General E.P de Z Abeysekara, Deputy Chief of Staff, Major General Jagath Alwis, Director General General Staff at Army Headquarters and a few more senior officers were associated with the inspection tour.
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