Colombo: The public opening of the Lotus Tower in Colombo, which was officially inaugurated by former Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena last year, has been further delayed due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Project Director at the Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (TRC), Shantha Gunananda told the Colombo Gazette on Wednesday that most of the Chinese employees who had gone home for the New Year holidays had not yet returned following the epidemic which has so far killed 2,118 people in mainland China.

As a result, he said that the public opening of the Lotus Tower has been further delayed.

The tower was opened to select invitees when it was formally inaugurated by Sirisena on September 16, 2019, seven years after the project commenced.

It was scheduled to be handed over to the government to commence public operations from March this year.

A total of $104 million was spent for construction of the tower and 80 per cent of the cost has been funded by the Export-Import Bank of China.

The The 350-meter-high tower comprises a telecommunication museum, restaurant, supermarkets, food courts, conference halls with a seating capacity for 400 people, a 1,000-seat auditorium, luxury hotel rooms, ballrooms and an observation gallery.