Lanka’s tallest tower to come up

Sri Lanka’s tallest building, running in to 68 floor constructed by Indocean Developers (Pvt) Ltd, a venture of Indian property group South City Projects (Kolkata) Pvt. Ltd, will get underway in August and would be completed in three years. Located opposite Beira Lake, the 400-apartment condominium tower development with top-of-line finishes, is speculated to cost around Rs. 8 billion.

The exclusive residential tower is looking to target expatriates, non-resident Sri Lankans and others. In-house facilities will include a swimming pool, gym, lounge, function room, play area for children, tennis courts and many other facilities. The mixed-use project is recognised by its 57th floor SkyPark with its 150-meter infinity swimming pool, observation deck and restaurants.

Pradeep Sureka, Director, Indocean Developers said, “We were looking to enter the Sri Lanka property market and saw this as a suitable opportunity.Urban Development Authority, Colombo, offered us the land and we were attracted by the location of the site.”

In their first overseas venture, SCPKL has commissioned world renowned architect Moshe Safdie and his team at Safdie Architects to design an iconic residential tower. At 65-storeys the building will be the tallest in Colombo, and is to be Safdie’s first project in Sri Lanka. Architects for the project would be Safdie Architects, Boston, USA while Singapore based Sri Lankan Architect Athula Amarasekera of Design Team3 will be the Submission and Detailing Architects for the project.

"My first visit to Sri Lanka was three years ago. I was very fascinated by the city and was amazed to see what a wonderful architectural disposition it has. Colombo is transforming.

They are urbanizing rapidly, and it is probably a good time to have a project that will set a benchmark for future development,” Safdie said.

Situated in the heart of the Sri Lankan capital, the man-made lake is already surrounded by major productive use buildings such as offices, hotels, shopping malls, apartments, banks and commercial and leisure establishments.

A 10-acre parcel of land originally belonging to the erstwhile Colombo Commercial Company is now being undertaken for redevelopment. Spanning an impressive lake-shore stretch, the waterfront will be converted into an all-pedestrian boardwalk and promenade bordered by fashion, retail, restaurants, spa and entertainment services.

Kolkata-based SCPKL, established in 2000, is one of the largest property groups in India. SCPKL has an impressive track record developing large-scale residential and commercial projects, including the record-making, tallest South City residential tower in Kolkata, and the South City shopping mall covering a million sq.ft, making it the largest mall in the country, also in Kolkata. In addition, the company has built numerous IT parks, industrial estates and townships in Chennai, Hyderabad, across Gujarat and in Kolkata.

“We will set the precedent of development in the Beira Lake district as we understand the fabric of the area and will create a showpiece on the lake frontage. This will certainly be lauded as the first of its kind in luxurious, yet environmentally friendly residential living,” said director, Indocean Developers, Jugal Khetawat.

(SS)