The piling work to construct two smart buildings under the Colombo Port City will begin in July next year, Deputy Minister of Policy Planning and Economic Development, Dr. Harsha de Silva said on Friday.
He said a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has already been forwarded to build two smart buildings at a cost of US$ 400 million and US $ 600 million.
“The work on the Chinese-funded Colombo Port City project is progressing rapidly. From my office from the World Trade Centre, I see work going on an hourly basis. For people who haven’t seen this
work from up in the sky, it will be unbelievable to see the infrastructure that has already been put there,” said Dr. De Silva who attended the inauguration of the fifth International Conference on Urban Design on Cities, People and Places (ICCPP2017) on Friday.
“Roads have been built, trucks are moving and big cranes are working,” he said. Pointing out that Sri Lanka has the investor appetite at present Dr. de Silva said he is presently in discussion with multiple global players to attract investment into this new ‘urban oasis’. The Deputy Minister said he was recently appointed the Chairman of the Steering Committee to work on the soft infrastructure of the Port City Project including the laws and the regulations of the development.
“We are looking at attracting not just financial institutions but particularly companies to function in this interesting urban oasis. In order to attract these investors, we are looking at laws, new regulations and incentive structures,” he said.