Colombo’s changing skyline to dazzle South Asia
transformation into an International Financial Centre.
“There will be a different set-up within the Port City, rules will be liberalised to create a structure to attract FDI (foreign direct investments) and promote the export of services,” reveals Thulci.
“We will still have to adhere to Sri Lanka laws but it will be articulated in a way which makes it easy to do business. Initially this will be the place where the government will test its policies, and then replicated for the rest of the country. The government will set up the soft infrastructure, our aim (CHEC) is to provide the hard infrastructure, build a world-class city,” he points out.
Work is well under way on the first phase of the grand project with nearly 60 per cent of the 269 hectares site, reclaimed from the sea - to put it into perspective, when completed you can fit in around 350 soccer pitches in that area.
David Wang Hao is no Messi, rather he is the messiah, the man who is in charge on the ground, and getting things done. His name- card simply says ‘ Employer’s Representative’, which most probably in Mandarin- speak is trouble- shooter for CHEC, whose parent company CCCC (China Communications Construction Company) is a Fortune 500 conglomerate (ranked 110th) and China’s largest government- owned infrastructure enterprise company. It is also listed on the Hong Kong and Shanghai Stock Exchanges.
David is in a dither. Just a few weeks ago, he saw all the hard work done by the three dredgers pumping sand to build the foundation go to waste. Cyclone Ockhi battered Sri Lanka leaving behind a trail of death and destruction. It also blew away several tens of thousands of cubic metres of sand at the fringes of the site with the sea reclaiming its own dredged offshore from approved areas.
“The storm swept the sand back into the sea and we were hit. But despite this setback, we are well on track and almost 60 per cent of the reclamation has been completed,” explains David as he shows us around the sandy site dotted with long lines of massive rock and cement blocks which are used as part of the base for the foundation. When office towers at the International Financial Centre or residential blocks go up, the foundations will dig deep into the sea bed.
The reclamation cost is US$1.4 billion. The total estimated cost of investment for the project which will comprise 178 hectares of land for development, is $15 billion. South Asia’s most livable city – already Colombo is ranked at the top – will be a PPP (public private partnership).
The 269 hectares is split with CHEC Port City getting 116 hectares or 43 per cent of the land on a 99-year lease with the rest held by the government. Of this latter portion 91 hectares is set aside for common areas (parks, roads, waterways etc.) with the government having 62 hectares for development. Along with CHEC’s 116 hectares it adds up to 178 hectares.
Private enterprise can pitch for plots early next year. A sales gallery/office designed by famed Sri Lankan- born architect Cecil Balmond is under construction. All interested parties will have to adhere to the masterplan and build within these parameters. There are five precincts – Central Park Living, Financial District, International Island, The Marina and Island Living – to choose from for investors each offering a fine urban grain, tailored for its planned use.
“Each plot has a masterplan where specifications are set with design-control-regulations (DCR) so any developer who purchases these plots will have to adhere to them and the masterplan. This will include facets like height restrictions and certain development guidelines,” Thulci clarifies.
“When fully completed, there will be 5.65 million square metres of built-up space. If you want to compare this with the biggest private sector development at the moment, Cinnamon Life will have 400,000 square metres, so you can see the scope of our project,” he adds.
Port City will offer 1.5 million square metres GFA (gross floor area) of office space. Colombo presently can offer only around 300,000 square metres with another 200,000 under construction. “Ours will be three times bigger,” smiles Thulci. These boys like to flaunt their size.
Everything from an international school – already a few prestigious institutions have made enquiries - to an integrated resort and theme park (perhaps Disney?) will be built. A state-of-the-art hospital offering the best medical care will also be on the ground as will a Convention and Exhibition Centre, plush 5-star hotels and a Marina, the first in Sri Lanka offering berths, around 150, to moor your luxury yachts.
David drives past rows of temporary housing for the workers which number around 1,200, a quarter of them Chinese, and points to where a two-kilometre beach will be built fringing the largely residential Island Living precinct. Luxury villas will dot the long stretch of palm tree-lined white sand and this will be a much-desired address for the affluent.
The icing on the cake will be the ease with which you can get about. Port City will be predominantly a green environment with limited vehicular use fostering a healthy lifestyle – most people who work at the international financial centre or say the school or hospital are expected to live in one of the 21,000 residential units ranging from villas to high-rises – there will be a smooth connectivity with the rest of Colombo.
The government’s Megapolis will have seven LRT loops connecting Colombo with the suburbs. One loop from Pettah will extend into Port City offering a convenient