President visits Altair again ahead of opening by Jan. 2021

Wednesday, 2 September 2020 00:13 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa paid a visit to the city’s iconic high rise property development Altair on Monday evening, which stands at 98% completion.

Following inspections of the elegantly-designed project and its progress, he expects the construction work to be completed in January next year, the President’s Media said in a statement.

This was his second visit to the site, after being elected President last November.

In June, President Rajapaksa visited the site with a view to expedite the completion of the project, which is three years behind schedule and facing a legal battle between overseas promoters.

The building has a 68-floor vertical tower and 63-floor leaning – or sloping tower – with 404 luxury apartments and mixed development. At 240m, the building will be one of the tallest buildings in Colombo when it is complete. The building is situated on the banks of the Beira Lake on a 2-acre plot of land leased by the Urban Development Authority (UDA) to the developer, Indocean Developers.

President Rajapaksa said completing Altair, designed by world-famous and award-winning architect Moshe Safdie, is also important to improve investor confidence and the commercial and tourism profile of Sri Lanka. Rajapaksa appointed urban development veteran Sirinimal Perera – currently Secretary to the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing – as the Special Authorised Officer to fast track the completion of Altair. The $250 million Board of Investment (BoI) approved project, was the first project cleared by Rajapaksa when he was the Secretary of the Ministry of Urban Development under the Special Development Projects Act, whilst Perera was the Chairman of the Urban Development Authority. The duo was responsible for major uplifts in urban development during their tenure.

Urban Development and Housing Ministry Secretary Sirinimal Perera, UDA Chairman Harshan de Silva, Altair Director Pradeep Moraes, and other officials of UDA were also present at the site visit.