Singapore Trade and Industry Minister pays visit to Colombo City Centre site

By Shannon Jayawardena

Singapore Trade and Industry Minister S. Iswaran yesterday paid an onsite visit to the Colombo City Centre (CCC) which is under construction at Colombo 2.

He also inaugurated the building’s cornerstone with the mind of further strengthening the Singapore-Sri Lanka friendship.

 “This building has a really unique and nice layout and shows the demand for quality lifestyles that people are seeking for. This will be quite a big transformation on the Sri Lankan context and I congratulate them for their immense success while wishing them the best of luck with everything,” Iswaran commented.

The building, an initiative of Abans PLC and Next Story Group, is designed by Studio HBA with a cultural background especially designed for modern business travelers. There are 47 floors, out of which there will be eight hotels, cuisine food courts, a luxury spa and gym, terrace, supermarkets and stores with over 100 top retail brands.

Colombo City Centre CEO Anand Sundaram stated: “Abans and Next Story Group have pooled in strength to create an iconic building in the Colombo City Centre which is to be filled with a wide range of luxuries. This will be a pioneer in many ways as it will be Colombo’s first upscale smart hotel.” The building will have a picturesque view overlooking the emerald-green Beira Lake with innovative and modern development aimed to enhance the high-end lifestyles within Colombo. Having being divided into three phases, the project will include exclusive residencies that will redefine urban living in the country, a colossal five floor retail lifestyle mall that will offer premium retail products, and a spectacular six-screen cineplex.

The project has already completed over 40% sales as of 2017, while the handover of the apartments will commence from October 2018. Next Hotel is expected to open in 2019. In 2017, the development was awarded as the “Most Promising Mixed Use Development” by CMO Asia, Singapore.

“What we have done is portray the unique culture of Sri Lanka as it truly brings out color and artistry. We have incorporated into the architecture the elements of Colombo to create a modern working space for the customers,” emphasised HBA Project Director Ayuni Aziz.

Minister Iswaran was given a full tour of the site by CCC Chairman Rusi Pestnjee, CCC CEO Anand Sundaram and CCC Director and Next Story Group CEO Anand Nadathur. A formal signing was done by the Minister as he was granted a token of appreciation afterwards by the CCC officials.

Pix by Upul Abayasekara