Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="monson" data-source="post: 22051225" data-attributes="member: 30005">Shangri-La gets another mixed mega development projectBy Namini WijedasaThe Urban Development Authority (UDA) is to lease out six acres of prime land on James Peiris Mawatha in Colombo 2 to Shangri-La for a mixed development project including condominiums, offices and shopping malls.  The sprawling block–located opposite the Beira Lake between the Altair building and the Abans Group’s Colombo City Centre development–will be given out for 99 years at Rs 12.5bn, UDA Chairman Jagath Nandana Munasinghe said. This is Rs 4.5bn above the estimate of the Valuation Department.Twenty-five percent of this value was paid at the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding earlier this year. The rest will be deposited when the final lease agreement is entered into after other approvals, including environmental clearance and traffic impact assessment, are obtained.  The latest deal brings up to three the number of developments the multinational hospitality company will have in Sri Lanka. The others are the 300-room Shangri-La Hambantota Resort & Spa and the Shangri-La Hotel in Colombo. It was not immediately known how much the Hong Stock Exchange-quoted business will invest in the new project.Tenders were called for the former Colombo Commercial Company property, with its valuable road frontage, in the last quarter of 2016. The UDA had acquired the parcel some years ago under provisions allowing it to take over under-utilised lands. Properties in other parts of Colombo are also up for grabs.The tender committee included officials from the UDA, the Megapolis Ministry and the Treasury. A two-envelope process was followed, with the technical proposals being assessed first by a Technical EvaluationCommittee. Three out of four parties that came forward qualified, Mr Munasinghe said.  In the financial bids stage, it was found that the offer made by Shangri-La–in partnership with a local entity called Shang Beira Lake Development (Pvt) Ltd Company founded in November last year–was higher than others. The credentials of funders were also checked.The UDA used the Valuation Department’s estimate of Rs 8bn as the base value and negotiated for a lease price of Rs 12.5bn, Mr. Munasinghe explained. There will be a nominal annual rental for the land imposed on the developer. Investors who buy apartments in the condominiums, however, will be given permanent ownership upon paying the difference between the leasehold and freehold price.The Government’s 2017 budget proposals removed restrictions on freehold rights from the ground floor upwards. The Shangri-La agreement is seen as part of a continued drive to attract investment into Sri Lanka’s condominium industry which has been identified as a growth sector.Meanwhile, Shangri-La’s 2016 annual report states that the Hambantota Resort & Spa had occupancy of 32 percent at an average room rate of US$134 [Rs 20,559] since opening in June last year. “Due to start-up costs, high depreciation charges and exchange losses on its US dollar bank borrowings, the Group recorded a net loss of US$7.9 million [Rs 1.2bn] from this hotel,” it said.- <a href="http://www.sundaytimes.lk/170806/news/shangri-la-gets-another-mixed-mega-development-project-253391.html" target="_blank">http://www.sundaytimes.lk/170806/news/shangri-la-gets-another-mixed-mega-development-project-253391.html</a></blockquote>

Verification: Dahaya deken beduwama keeyada?

Top Bottom