British Council Colombo goes for Rs. 500 m redevelopment

Saturday, 21 January 2012 00:20 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

By Devin Jayasundera

The British Council Colombo, in its efforts to increase the capacity of its premises, kicked off a refurbishment programme under the auspices of Higher Education Minister S.B Dissanayake.

The refurbishment plan is valued at Rs. 500 million and is the single largest investment commitment made by the British Council for 2012 in any of the 105 councils it operates worldwide.

The redevelopment entails building a state-of-the-art library, a new auditorium, fully-integrated purpose design customer service area, a cafeteria and a modern upgraded back office facility. This major redevelopment project will be phased over two years to minimise disruption to customers and its operations.

The construction of the new infrastructure will be done according to the BREEAM standard (Building Research Establishment’s Environmental Assessment Method).

Minister Dissanayake expressed pleasure in inaugurating the major redevelopment project of British Council. He also congratulated British Council’s Country Director Tony Reilly and the staff on this ambitious project.

“This redevelopment project will be of value to all Sri Lankans today and for generations to come. Their significant investment in this project confirms the British Council’s commitment to continuously providing high-quality educational services throughout the island, strengthening our educational and cultural ties with the UK,” Minister Dissanayake added.

“This project is a vote of confidence in the British Council’s cultural and educational programme in Sri Lanka where we have operated for more than 60 years. The redevelopment of the Colombo premises which is the headquarters of our Sri Lanka operations will strengthen our ability to deliver an even larger programme of activities and services for the next 60 years,” British Council Country Director Reilly said.

“This standard is a UK based rating system for green buildings which set the standard for best practices in building design, construction and operation,” Reilly added.

The project will be implemented by the Sri Lankan architect firm Design Forum (Pvt) Ltd. and UK based Jestico plus Whiles.

The British Council in Sri Lanka has a library membership of 24,000, which makes it the largest library in the entire British Council global network. The English and Examinations services at British Council Sri Lanka are also among the biggest in the world with 12,000 students learning English, more than 2,000 teachers trained each year and 34,000 examination candidates acquiring UK qualifications each year, in addition to a vibrant Arts and cultural programme. The Colombo office operates across a seven-day week and a 12-hour day and sees up to 2,000 visitors a day.

This year British Council also organised a reality TV show titled ‘Ideators’ to promote and showcase the entrepreneurial skills and talents of Sri Lankan and UK students.

At the inauguration event MP Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha also launched his book titled ‘Lakmahal, Colombo, Sri Lanka: 75 Years of Social Change and Political Flux,’ which includes an account of his time at the British Council from 1984 to 1992.