Sri Lankan top firms in multi-million dollar property project
May 15, 2008 (LBO) – Three of Sri Lanka's top companies have struck a deal to do a big property development project on prime property they own in the heart of the capital Colombo, the firms said Thursday.
John Keells Holding (JKH), Associated Motorways (AMW) and Finlays Colombo have entered into an agreement to do a feasibility study for the combined development of their properties situated adjacent to each other.
JKH chairman Susantha Ratnayake said the estimated investment in the project had not yet been decided but would be "quite substantial" and over 250 million dollars.
The construction of the project is expected to commence in 2010.
"We have decided to set up a joint venture to develop the three properties the three companies own," he told a news conference.
"It would be a 'city within a city' concept and be built on 10 acres of land. We want to unlock the value of our properties."
The combined extent of the site would be over 1,060 perches with road frontage from both Union Place and Vauxhall Street, both busy roads in the city.
The high rises of the project would overlook the Beira Lake, a water body in the city next to the port.
The project would consist of residential, commercial, retail and recreational facilities.
Ratnayake said the companies would not need a lot capital upfront because of the prospect of raising funds through 'pre-sales' of apartments.
He said JKH had bought a stake in AMW earlier partly because of the prospect of jointly developing property they owned which was adjacent to each other.
"One of the prime reasons for investing in AMW was for this," he said.
Kumar Jayasuriya, chairman of Finlays, which is part of the UK's Swire Group, said they decided to join forces because of the need to have scale in projects of this nature.
"The land is underutilised and this is all about unlocking its potential," he told the news conference.
"Also, it is rare to have this kind of extent – 10 acres – in Colombo city. So by combining forces we can have a project which can be differentiated from others."
Finlay's parent, the Swire Group, is one of the largest property developers in the Asia-Pacific region and would provide expertise and resources for the project, Jayasuriya said.
May 15, 2008 (LBO) – Three of Sri Lanka's top companies have struck a deal to do a big property development project on prime property they own in the heart of the capital Colombo, the firms said Thursday.
John Keells Holding (JKH), Associated Motorways (AMW) and Finlays Colombo have entered into an agreement to do a feasibility study for the combined development of their properties situated adjacent to each other.
JKH chairman Susantha Ratnayake said the estimated investment in the project had not yet been decided but would be "quite substantial" and over 250 million dollars.
The construction of the project is expected to commence in 2010.
"We have decided to set up a joint venture to develop the three properties the three companies own," he told a news conference.
"It would be a 'city within a city' concept and be built on 10 acres of land. We want to unlock the value of our properties."
The combined extent of the site would be over 1,060 perches with road frontage from both Union Place and Vauxhall Street, both busy roads in the city.
The high rises of the project would overlook the Beira Lake, a water body in the city next to the port.
The project would consist of residential, commercial, retail and recreational facilities.
Ratnayake said the companies would not need a lot capital upfront because of the prospect of raising funds through 'pre-sales' of apartments.
He said JKH had bought a stake in AMW earlier partly because of the prospect of jointly developing property they owned which was adjacent to each other.
"One of the prime reasons for investing in AMW was for this," he said.
Kumar Jayasuriya, chairman of Finlays, which is part of the UK's Swire Group, said they decided to join forces because of the need to have scale in projects of this nature.
"The land is underutilised and this is all about unlocking its potential," he told the news conference.
"Also, it is rare to have this kind of extent – 10 acres – in Colombo city. So by combining forces we can have a project which can be differentiated from others."
Finlay's parent, the Swire Group, is one of the largest property developers in the Asia-Pacific region and would provide expertise and resources for the project, Jayasuriya said.
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