Fort to be commercial hub of Asia

Shirajiv SIRIMANE

The emergence of a large middle class in India numbering over 500 million, have created many opportunities for Colombo to position itself as a preferred destination for business, shopping and vacations.

Improvements to Colombo Fort are being carried out to enhance it as a central business district. The area around Fort is the oldest part of the city and has several historic landmarks and buildings. It is also home to the head offices of many businesses and the area also has the advantage of being a sea front city. "Unfortunately, due to its organic growth through the years, the full potential of this area has not been realized. That is why the Government is putting in place several measures to develop this historic part of the city," said Secretary of Ministry of Defence Gotabhaya Rajapaksa.

Addressing the business community in Fort area he said that a final additional benefit of the clearing of the waterways and improvements to the water retention areas is being done and there will be scope to develop more water based recreational activities. "Windsurfing, sailing, water skiing and even punting or paddle boating can easily be developed. This will further increase the services available in Colombo."

"Colombo will also be the gateway for religious pilgrimages and tours in the rest of the country for these visitors, whose culture has deep historic links with ours. Another area in which Colombo has great potential is the provision of conference and convention facilities for international events."

"Because the slums and shanty towns are all single storey or low-rise buildings, they occupy vast areas of land. Since the community housing to be provided will be in high-rise building complexes, a lot of Government land will be freed in Colombo, which will be earmarked for development. This liberated land can be used for tourism and residential facilities, business activities and other services. A great deal of foreign investment is also anticipated for these development projects. "Old buildings are to be renovated and preserved so that their character can be brought out. New developments can also be situated in this area, but only in such a way as not to clash with the existing buildings. A good example of this is the creation of luxury hotel and residential facilities within historic buildings such as the Cargills Building and the Grand Orient Hotel."

"The idea is to modify the interior while keeping the exterior intact. Discussions are already under way with the owners of these buildings in this regard." Another project in progress is the relocation of certain facilities to less obtrusive sites that will not impact the city's image. The St. John's fish market is being relocated to Peliyagoda, where a modern facility has been erected. A Dubai-style Gold exchange will be built in its place in Pettah. The Manning market and the Wholesale market have also been earmarked for relocation. As a first step towards speeding up the relocation of Government buildings, a programme is being set up to shift the offices of the Defence Ministry, Chief of Defence Staff and the Headquarters of the Armed Services to a combined office complex in Battaramulla. He said that the aim of the government is to develop the city of Colombo as the financial and commercial hub of the South Asian region.