Overseas Realty (Ceylon) Ltd will invest over US$ 180 million to build one of Sri Lanka’s largest office complexes and retail and entertainment mall areas in Havelock City premises.
The proposed office complex towering 50 floors will be similar to the World Trade Centre and would also cater to the same commercial market segment, said Pavir D. Samarasinghe, Director Group CEO, Overseas Realty (Ceylon) Ltd. The mall would be adjoining the office tower and would have five floors.
In addition to this investment, Overseas Realty is also embarking on the second stage of the residential complex where two additional residential towers are being built. The two residential towers of 226 units each will also have parking slots for 520 vehicles. “We have also concentrated on the garden space and offer two acres of landscaped gardens,” Samarasinghe added.
The first residential tower would be ready by June 2019 and the second tower would be opened June 2020.
He said that the demand for both mid and luxury housing would keep on increasing in Sri Lanka. “It’s not a bubble that is about to burst.”
He said that Sri Lanka’s demand for housing is increasing mainly due to people moving to the city and also because people are investing on a second home concept. “There is also a trend where people buy apartments and rent it and this trend would not decline.”
He however said that Sri Lanka’s apartment pricing is high in comparison to rents in the region. “If you take an average apartment it’s around Rs. 25 million; in India or Indonesia, the same size apartment would be Rs. 15 million.
The main reason for this is high cost of duty on construction materials and also high cost of labour.
Picture by Saliya Rupasinghe
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