Liberty Plaza to be transformed into premier retail destination

By Melissa Perera

The Board of Directors of Colombo Land and Development Company unveiled the new project proposals for the revamping of Liberty Plaza and the launch of the new food court at a ceremony held at the rooftop terrace Liberty Plaza last week.

The project will be launched to coincide with the forthcoming Sinhala and Tamil New Year.

Amongst the distinguished guests present at the occasion were Minister of Investment Promotion Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena, Minister of Parliament Namal Rajapaksa, Mayor of Colombo A.J.M. Muzammil, Urban Development Authority Chairman Nimal Perera and UDA Director General Nihal Fernando.

Speaking at the ceremony, Abeywardena said that he was thankful for the initiative taken by the Colombo Land and Development Company at a time when vast developments are taking place Colombo.

“After the end of a deadly war, Sri Lanka is now transforming into a socially stable country. Both local and foreign investors have shown interest in investing in the development of the country. These investments have helped the economy grow substantially with an increase of almost 8%. In order to reach the target the country needs more investments, which is not an easy task and the initiative shown by the company brings in nothing but positive opinions. Currently, Sri Lanka has invested 30% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) towards urban development.”  

The Minister added: “Most of the one million tourists who arrived in Sri Lanka last year were here to visit the major tourist destinations of the country, which include many historical and geographical locations. In addition, they should also see Sri Lanka as a vibrant shopping destination as well, which requires many infrastructure developments and I see the revamping of Liberty Plaza as an answer to this.”

“Being the commercial capital of the country, Colombo is going through many developments and changes and I am positive that Liberty Plaza will be one of the main shopping destinations in the country soon.”

Yapa added: “Our goal as a Government should be to encourage foreign, as well as local investors. Developing a country is not an easy task for the Government to take on alone; all concerned parties should work together to achieve this goal. The main objective of establishing the UDA was to bring together Government and private sectors in developing order to achieve many targets in developing the country.”

Speaking at the ceremony, Colombo Land and Development Company Chief Operating Officer Dharshan Jayadeva stated that being a part of the revamping of one of the country’s first shopping complexes was only the beginning of a new journey for the company.

“The Government of Sri Lanka has begun a new era and created a positive environment with which to go forward. With so much construction taking place and investors coming forward with a positive change, we decided that it is very important that we revitalise this important landmark because having studied the retail market we see a growing demand with the increase of tourists patronising our country which was more than a million last year.”

“Our ambition is to add an additional 70,000sq.ft. to the already existing 100,000sq.ft. at Liberty Plaza. The proposed unique façade around the building will consist of video walls to cater to digital advertising, which will be a first in Sri Lanka.”

Jayadeva added: “The development will include an additional parking level, two floors of retail space and a new state-of-the-art food court which we declared open today.”

Taking the initiative

Addressing the gathering at the event, UDA Chairman Nimal Perera commended CLDC’s initiative in getting the project off the ground, stating: “We are indeed grateful for the successful implementation of this project and are happy to join hands with the Colombo Land and Development Company, which is one of the best performing subsidiary companies that come under the UDA. I am also extremely happy with their sense of initiative in undertaking this project.”

Perera added: “I have never witnessed such quick implementation in the starting up of a project of this scale. We are indeed looking forward to experiencing the new Liberty Arcade which will I am sure, meet the highest international standards. With the existing management we are confident that the proposals will reach its target on time.”  

The Singaporean Government recommended two well known real estate developers for the project, namely S.P. Tao who went onto complete the World Trade Centre in Colombo later on, as well as Ng Eng Ghee, who ultimately went on to successfully develop Liberty Plaza into one of the country’s first ever international standard shopping malls.

Ng Eng Ghee was instrumental in writing the initial Condominium Rules and Regulations in use in Sri Lanka and also sponsored several state officials involved in the drafting of the regulations on a visit to Singapore in order to study the Singaporean Condominium Rules prevailing at that time.

Colombo Land and Development Company came into existence in 1982 as a result of a joint venture between UDA Sri Lanka and Clarissa of Singapore and today the company possesses a distinguished Board of Directors comprising former Navy Commander and current Sri Lankan Ambassador to Japan Wasantha Karannagoda, President’s Counsel Ali Sabry, George Steuart Group Chairman Dilith Jayaweera, Consultant to the Ministry of Higher Education Prof.  Krishan Deheragoda, UDA Director Dr. Nalaka Godahewa and prominent businessman Mangala Gunathilaka along with the Singaporean directors Ng Yew Tong and Ng Yoo Xing Eugene.  At the time of CLDC’s incorporation the Singaporean partners held a 70% stake while 30% of the shares were owned by the Urban Development Authority. The company was then publicly listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange in 1986 and currently the company’s foreign-held shares stand at 24%, while the balance 76% is held both by Sri Lankan corporates as well as individual shareholders out of which the UDA still holds a 17.5% stake.

Pix by Sameera Wijesinghe