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Development Strategies and International Trade Minister Malik Samarawickrama on Friday welcomed Dubai’s Essar for undertaking the Rs. 30 billion mixed development project at the multimodal transport hub in Battaramulla under a public-private partnership.
“This is being done as a private-public partnership with a reputed foreign investor, and it is exactly the kind of investment project that our Government welcomes and encourages,” said the Minister at the inauguration of the project.
The venture aims to integrate a multi-modal transport centre that plans to locate all major administrative functions in the capital with investment from Riemersma Management Company (RMC)’s Essar Project on a public-private partnership basis.
The lease declaration for the land plot, which was leased to Essar Project for a 99-year lease for Rs. 1.4 billion, was handed to the investors at the launch on Friday.
“As the subject Minister for investment, I am very pleased to see this project being inaugurated, and it demonstrates the confidence that foreign investors have in our country, our Government’s economic policies, and our people. My Ministry, and the Board of Investment that functions under us, remain very committed and focused on facilitating investments in a proactive and investor-friendly manner,” he said, and congratulated Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka for his great leadership in this initiative.
“We are committed to supporting you, from an investment promotion and investor facilitation perspective, and will continue to work together to bring high quality foreign partners to high potential projects such as this one,” Minister Samarawickrama told Essar officials.
“I am pleased to see a respected company like Essar from Dubai investing in the project, and we invite them to bring other companies from Dubai and the wider region to invest in Sri Lanka. We have many opportunities ranging from energy to transport infrastructure to high-end manufacturing, and tourism. Combined with our excellent geographic location and pro-business policy environment, I am sure you will be able to uncover lucrative investment opportunities in Sri Lanka,” he added.
He said the project has the potential to transform the economic landscape of this area, and bring new vitality and dynamism to the people and businesses of Colombo.
The project will initiate its plans in a 415-perch land plot, with the Koswatta to Kaduwela main road running behind it and the Battaramulla to Rajagiriya main road running in front. It proposes to build two towers with 35 storeys and 26 storeys, the first allocating a net space of 20,000 m2 for government and private offices, and the latter with 250 standard apartments and 100 hotel apartments.
The project will also be part of a Light Rail Transport (LRT) system which will run from Kaduwela to Fort. In addition, the apartments will be priced targeting the employees in the area. The entire project is expected to be completed within the next five years.
“This mix development project, which was launched as a public-private partnership project, is an important milestone project for our Ministry. This project proposes to locate all major administrative functions within municipalities of Kaduwela, Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, Urban Council of Maharagama, and Pradeshiya Sabha of Kotikawatta-Mulleriyawa, and integrate these identified areas of the administrative capital, and gazette and declare it as separate Municipal Council in the future,” the Minister of Megapolis and Western Development Patali Champika Ranawaka stated at the launch.
RMC’s Essar Project Managing Partner Kier Riemersma told the Daily FT that the timeframe for this development will be three and a half years with 12 months of design and engineering, which will be followed by the construction cycle of two and a half years. He explained that they are the Development Manager of this development project.
“We oversee the entire project, which includes putting the investment consortium together, procuring the design team, the engineering team, the construction company, the hotel operator as well as sales, leasing, and management for the project,” he added.
