Clean, green Colombo as a commercial hub

Tuesday, 4 March 2014 01:07 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

By Cheranka Mendis Outlining the work undertaken by the Government to make Colombo a commercial hub in the region, Urban Development Authority Director General Nihal Fernando took the audience through the projects implemented so far, those to be implemented and the journey forward. Even though urban development was at a very low rate during the war, with the dawn of peace the Government focused attention on the much-needed avenue of commercial and city development and beautification. Having cleared out the garbage in the city and by engaging in various beautification projects, Colombo is now a clean and green city, attracting foreign investors. Flood-free Colombo The Defence Ministry with the assistance of World Bank was able to bring in funding to make Colombo a flood-free area with the participation of the Sri Lanka Land Reclamation Corporation which is under the Ministry of Defence. “We are now in the process of developing all canals. Canals have been cleaned and water catchment areas have been created by the Land Reclamation and it is today flood-free,” Fernando said. Peliyagoda – an area for markets and trade Having identified that due to the activities in Colombo there is a need for at least 500 lorries to come to the city centre for various functions, the authorities are now looking at diverting all lorry activities to the outskirts and have chosen Peliyagoda. The fish market which was at the centre was taken outside to Peliyagoda, along with the relocation of the Manning Market. “The aim is to make the Peliyagoda area, accessible from Negombo Road, Kandy Road and Baseline Road, to have all these facilities. Along with that, we are planning to take the activities of the wholesale market of sugar, dhal, etc., to the same place. State Engineering Corporation of Sri Lanka also has a substantial land area in Peliyagoda which will also be utilised for similar activities.” The Ports Authority too has plans to release all containers coming to the port from Peliyagoda. The UDA has given them the land and SLPA is in the process of building a railway line connecting both, so that they will transport all containers from the harbour to Peliyagoda via train. The release of the containers will take place in Peliyagoda. “Therefore we will minimise lorries coming into the city centre by taking the activities to the outskirts. This is being done to facilitate the commercial hub in Colombo.”

Kotte: The administrative capital Having identified Kotte as the administrative capital of Sri Lanka, administrative offices in Colombo are currently being shifted to Sethsiripaya. Sethsiripaya II, a 14-storey building, is in place, while Sethsiripaya III is in the pipeline. Land for this is now in place and the UDA is currently engaged in discussion with an investor for another 40-storey building. “By moving most of the Government administrative buildings to Kotte, we are releasing land and building in Colombo for commercial activities,” he asserted. Relocation of the Defence Headquarters from Colombo to Kotte is also in focus and the building construction is now underway. With this relocation there will be 90 acres of land in Colombo which will be released for urban development to facilitate the commercial hub in Colombo, Fernando added.

Land released from underserved settlements Fernando said the UDA is currently in the process of building 15,000 houses for underserved settlement. Twenty different locations in Colombo have been identified for this project. The first of the said project was in Dematagoda where some 500 houses were relocated. This would mean the releasing of 400 acres of land in Colombo from the underserved settlement redevelopment program. An urban regeneration program, those relocated will get better facilities that would upgrade their lifestyles. Presently some 900 acres of land is occupied by underserved settlements (shanties and slums) of which some are on some Government land, and some on private land. All contract work for the next set of housing, which will add another 20,000 to the inventory, will be given to local contractors. This would mean an annual distribution of Rs. 10 million in the construction industry within the next five years. Beira waterfront development To attract investors to Colombo, the commercial environment must be soundly designed. “We must start with making Beira Lake the backyard for all the development around the area,” he said. Creating a waterfront development using Beira, the first step is to do up a six metre walk path around the entire Beira Lake. The water quality will be improved in line with this and floating facilities will come in. There are studies to use the entire stretch as a landing area for seaplanes as done in Kotte. “With the improvement of the Beira Lake we have also included spaces for public conveniences.” With the World Bank funds and CMC, the UDA has already established several such facilities such as the walkability improvement done around Viharamahadevi Park. Speaking on the Lotus Tower telecommunication tower that is built down D.R. Wijewardena Mawatha, open to Beira Lake from one side, he assured that more investors have expressed interest in similar projects as Beira Lake waterfront developments. Pedestrian web The UDA has also proposed a pedestrian web in the city of Colombo where from the Beira one can walk to Fort, Pettah, etc. The web will be equipped with information kiosks and small dining outlets. “Connected to that, we will create a floating market.” The area behind Fort Railway Station has been cleared and is open up to the Beira (location of the Bastian Mawatha bus stand). The building here will be legally occupied by some of the relocated shops and payment hawkers as it will be made into a shopping complex. Public spaces for the people Under this, a series of buildings that were dilapidating were identified and conserved as profit ventures under the UDA. Along with the now famous Old Dutch Hospital and Race Course building, the old Auditor General’s building behind Independence Square is being renovated as a shopping complex with a mini cinema. The old Gafoor Building, now also under the UDA, will be developed into a 60 room city hotel to be managed by another party while another 60 room sports hotel complex is expected to come up at Reid Avenue. The Tripoli market, located in close proximity to Maradana Technical Junction, is now being restored to house software developing IT companies. According to an architect, the plaster is now being taken off to show the old exposed-brick building as it was in the past. The building will be ready for operation by June this year and spans 200,000 sqft. Development across the country Fernando also listed out some of the other projects undertaken by the UDA, such as the Gandhi Park and Linear Parks Batticaloa, the Conventional Centre in Hambantota, Administrative Complex Hambantota, Jaffna Town Development and Queen Elizabeth Shopping Complex Nuwara Eliya under projects developed island wide Under small town development, the UDA will develop Rambukkana, Ehaliyagoda, Weerakatiya, Urubokka, Anuradhapura, Middeniya, Imaduwa, Panduwasnuwara and Narammala. Several private sector companies have come forward to support the initiative as well, Fernando said. “MAS Holdings has come forward to develop Meegahakivula, Cargills PLC for Clock Tower Bus Stand Kandy, Jetwing Holdings for Dankotuwa Town, Colombo Dockyard Matara Town, Arpico for Homagama Town, Coca-Cola for Nuwara Eliya Water Project and People’s Leasing for Moratuwa Town Development.” Sri Lanka is also expecting the completion of several international projects such as Shangri-la, Krrish Square, proposed Slave Island development by JKH, Tata Housing and Destiny Mall. Pix by Upul Abayasekara and Lasantha Kumara

Action plan to create a successful commercial and tourism hub

Who will use all these new building spaces? Who will occupy all the spaces that are being created under the mega development projects in the city? A question that has been constantly asked by many was raised by Standard Chartered Bank Sri Lanka CEO Anirvan Ghosh Dastidar. Somebody has to buy these apartments, somebody has to occupy them – but the question is, who will? A result of the country’s commercial hub concept, all land area made available by the UDA for mega scale development which consists of complexes, housing residences, business and entertainment have to be occupied. “The task ahead for all of us is to market the destination,” Dastidar said. “Investors want to look at a good tax structure, a strong Judiciary and legal system, ease of starting a business and the entire connectivity and logistics, strategic position of business, etc.,” he expressed. The city undoubtedly looks beautiful and would cater to the wants and needs of a large number of expats and various international business parties. “But we have to start marketing it and get people to start the infrastructure.” Acknowledging Hambantota as a step in the right direction, Dastidar asserted that what is imperative now is to draw in a big brand name, one big manufacturing company such as Tata, to start up operation in Hambantota. “When one is stationed there, others will follow.” To realise the concept of a commercial hub, the infrastructure that is in place must be occupied and operational. While the country moves forward, it must also remember that regional growth is happening and that regional competitors are putting up a fight as well. “We have to be more aggressively competitive. The infrastructure is happening. It is a fantastic time. We just need to use these spaces.” Prioritisation of hubs is key Prioritising is key, said EAP Holdings Ltd. Deputy Executive Deputy Chairman Mano Tittawela. Never mind the Government investing in building the physical infrastructure of the country and the encouraging signs of the development taking shape in Colombo, Sri Lanka also needs to prioritise the areas in order to achieve success in any one of the sectors defined by the hub status. Quoting the keynote speaker of the forum P. Tewari, Tittawela noted that prioritisation is important to do at least a few of the six hubs well. This, however, must be done on a basis of comparative advantage. “The country’s comparative advantage story is a dynamic story. We may have comparative advantage today in a particular field, and not tomorrow. Part of it is also up to us, to realise it will take a little more time.” What is needed is to think where we want to be for sure and then move towards that area. “It should not be a dogmatic approach,” Tittawela said. “But we must do what we are good at and do the best in it. The Government, through its investment in infrastructure, has created the environment necessary for investment. What is needed is clarity on some of the tax regimes, long term incentives, etc. “Attract investors, show what the Government is putting in place and work on a segmented hub strategy,” he advised. Tittawela also observed that tourism is one of the areas in which the country has the greatest competitive advantage, across the six hubs presented. Software and IT is another. Don’t bother about Singapore or Malaysia If you want to be inspired as a nation to be transformed as a country, there is no need to look at Singapore or Malaysia – you will just feel jealous, said Laugfs Holdings Ltd. Chairman W.K.H. Wegapitiya. “Once maybe, 50-60 years ago they were looking at Sri Lanka and what happened to us. When we were in school we learnt of competitive advantage, how a country becomes poor or rich. They try to tell us underpinning a justification of how a country becomes poor or richer. They talk of few elements – the environment nature has given to us and location specific advantages. Sri Lanka has all those, then how did Sri Lanka become a backward nation in the Asian region?” he questioned. Urging the audience to read the Mahawansa, he noted that historically, ancient Sri Lanka was primarily a trading and manufacturing nation, not an agriculture economy based on tea, rubber and coconut as learnt in school. “We were a thriving trading nation until European nations forcibly moved us. From third to ninth century we were a commercial hub in the Asian region and a trading emporium on the Silk Route. Unfortunately we lost it.” But if we want to make Sri Lanka a commerce hub in the Asian region, we should not only focus on trading activities only but more on manufacturing. Sri Lanka still has good natural resources, the best iron ore deposits, limonite, oil and gas, he explained; unfortunately the country has failed to capitalise on them and use them for economic development. Noting that we have now reached the golden era in economy, Wegapitiya acknowledged the importance of the hubs. However, the knowledge hub should be changed to attitude hub, he said. “I think Sri Lanka would be one of the strongest economies in the region. We have everything so we can adapt a ‘Sri Lankans can’ attitude. There is nothing that we can learn from the World Bank or IMF or UN. They are not here to help us and they never taught us how to develop our country.” Read warning signs and orient Sri Lanka’s profile right to markets It is no secret that the tourism industry has experienced a dramatic climb since 2009, when the arrival figure stood at 500,000, to attracting 1.2 million tourists in 2013. While the industry has fared quite well within a short span of time, there are few relevant factors that need to be looked at in order to create a sustainable industry, Citrus Leisure Chairman Prema Cooray said. During 2009/10 there was a need to look at product development, and those in the industry highlighted the issue and noted that additional 15,000-25,000 rooms were needed to reach the targeted figure of 2.5 million tourists by 2016. And the product did grow – all around Sri Lanka, people are building hotels and there are more to come. “A word of caution here because we don’t want to replicate the situation in Thailand, etc., where supply outstrips demand,” Cooray cautioned. He noted that authorities will have to look at how various tourism sources can be identified and provide proper infrastructure so that a sustainable product can be developed in Sri Lanka. “There are several warning signs here which may have to be corrected very soon,” he warned. The country has always experienced a steady flow of tourists from Europe. One of the key advantages for the island is posed by Maldives, which has a twin destination aspect that most countries in Europe look at. “Sri Lanka has an advantage to combine the Maldives with Sri Lanka and it has been a tremendous success.” The country will do well to identify target segments in the tourist market. India is the place the country should be looking at in terms of numbers: “We are well connected, we have enough flights and although it is the biggest supplier of tourism traffic there is so much more potential with India, especially in the MICE market. We have still not gone there.” China’s outbound market is expected to be 100 million tourists next year. This is another market that presents immense opportunities for Sri Lanka. Cooray observed: “Sri Lanka’s profile is different to Europeans as compared to the South East Asian countries, including India. They are not necessarily beach-oriented.” The country’s profile and marketing must therefore be oriented towards getting these numbers as against what we could offer. “I think Sri Lanka is on the right path there, they have a lot of plans, in Colombo especially, to provide a niche for this kind of traffic.” “Sri Lanka no doubt has positioning to be a great tourism hub. However there are key steps that would facilitate this such as PPP (which is an integral part of the industry), a centralised body (Sri Lanka Tourism is the face for tourism) as a one-stop-shop to get all clearance and more focused promotions, etc. There have been tremendous improvement in the latter two points but, “I would urge that we need to do more here in order to facilitate foreign investors. We need to do much more focused promotion, consistent activities in countries we have tourism from and those that need to grow.” It had a delayed response but is happening now. Nation reputation management for image creation Cinnamon Hotels and Resorts Head of Brand Marketing and John Keells Holdings Vice President Dileep Mudadeniya asserted that Sri Lanka as a whole has five sectors governing the reputation of the country with tourism at the forefront. Also part of the exercise is the highly-underestimated power of sports, exports as product origin affects the image of a country, people and public diplomacy. “These five sectors can directly influence the image of the country,” Mudadeniya expressed. “If you look at the five hub concept, they are directly with these five even though there are variations.” If the concentration is there, these factors must merge with the five hub concept which would lead to national reputation – “why national reputation is important for tourism is that you can command a premium for exports.” If these five elements can be coordinated with the five hub concept, then we have a platform for national reputation management aka nation branding. More and more countries have now started doing this, he said, including the more developed countries as well. “In some countries the focus is on tourism and that creates national reputation. But it goes beyond that,” he stressed. “My message is to work on this hub concept to be moved on to the five sectors which can increase the national reputation and create a platform where everyone can benefit from it. The time is right for us to drive the nation branding concept where almost all industries can directly benefit,” Mudadeniya maintained.