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Four more MoUs by next week to lease state lands

16 Dec 2021

  • Lands located in Thalapathpitiya, Rajagiriya, Union Place, and Ekala
  • Already signed two MoUs for Dematagoda land, Nuwara Eliya cable project 
  • Developers include both local and international investors
    BY Shenal Fernando The Urban Development Authority (UDA) is set to enter into four more Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with potential investors in relation to two land parcels from the property portfolio presented a few weeks ago, The Morning Business learns. Speaking to us, UDA Acting Deputy Director General – Real Estate and Land Management E.A.C. Piyashantha stated: “We have already signed two MoUs in relation to the Dematagoda land as well for the cable car project in Nuwara Eliya. We are hoping to sign two MoUs within this week and a further two more by the end of next week.” Elaborating on this, Piyashantha stated: “We have already given the Thalapathpitiya land to ICC (Pvt.) Ltd. ( 40-floor apartment complex involving an investment of Rs. 2.2 billion), and the Rajagiriya land has been given to LOLC (mixed-development project involving an investment of Rs. 4.5 billion). We have given the Union Place land to Access Engineering for a multi-storey car park (an investment of Rs. 2.5 billion). Furthermore, the car park project in the Galle town centre was given to NEM Construction (an investment of Rs. 1.8 billion) while the multi-storey car parks in Petah and Narahenpita will be carried out by the UDA (an investment of Rs. 1.2 billion and Rs. 1.1 billion, respectively). In addition, we have also entered into a MoU with Access Engineering for a logistic park in Ekala (an investment of $ 140 million); we are in the final process of finalising an agreement.” He further stated that potential investors include foreign investors in collaboration with local investors. With regard to the Dematagoda land, during the UDA Investment Forum 2021, the UDA called for request for proposals (RFPs) for a high-rise mixed-development project on this 1.5 ha land parcel, located in the Dematagoda junction abutting to the Baseline and Dematagoda roads. This land parcel will be offered on a 99-year leasehold basis and the expected total investment is $ 29.7 million. Explaining further, Piyashantha stated: “There are two potential investors interested in the Dematagoda land, but we signed the MoU with the former Indian investors of Lanka Hospitals (Apollo Hospital Enterprise Ltd.).” The MoU for the Nuwara Eliya cable car project, which involves the construction of a 4 km-long cable car link between Nanu Oya and Nuwara Eliya, was signed with Outdoor Engineering Lanka Ltd., a subsidiary of Sweden Outdoor Engineering Ltd. This project was offered on a 30-year leasehold basis and will involve an investment of $ 55 million. Speaking to us, UDA Director General N.P.K. Ranaweera stated that in addition to the land parcels offered in the UDA Investment Forum 2021, the UDA has also entered into six to seven agreements with investors with regard to other land parcels under the authority of the UDA. At the UDA Investment Forum 2021, the UDA presented a property portfolio composed of 46 land parcels available for potential investors, which is expected to attract investments of around $ 6 billion. The property portfolio offered by the UDA included 46 land parcels divided into nine categories based upon the type of the project involved. The categories are high-rise mixed development, middle-rise mixed development, IT-based development, Beira Lake waterfront development, hospitality and leisure development, residential tower development, office development, logistic hub development, and multi-storey car park cum mixed development. The largest land parcel offered was the Welikada Prison land, which was 16.4 ha in extent and was offered on a 99-year leasehold basis. The expected total investment is $ 1.5 billion. Similarly, the Chalmers Granaries land in Colombo Fort was also offered on a 99-year leasehold basis, of which the expected total investment is $ 1 billion.


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