Krrish has paid only 10 % of lease for prime Fort property, admits Govt.

The Government on Friday conceded that M/s Krrish Group India has only made an initial deposit of Rs. 499.5 million or 10 per cent of the total lease premium for the Transworks House property in Colombo Fort.

Nimal Siripala de Silva, Leader of the House in response to a question raised by Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe said as a follow up action after making the initial deposit, the Urban Development Authority (UDA) has taken steps to vest the Heritage building site to seek the final approval to sign the lease agreement.

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(Source: Sunday Times)

BUDGET 2013: SELLING LAND TO FOREIGNERS TO BE COMPLETELY PROHIBITED

Selling land to foreigners will be completely prohibited from 2013 but will be granted on a lease system, the President proposed a short while ago in his budget speech.

Furthermore, it was proposed that land leased to foreigners will be taxed by 100%.

2012 3rd Quarter House Price Index - Prices fall across the board

LankaPropertyWeb.com's 2012 3rd quarter housing price index shows that all house, apartment, commercial and land prices in the country have suffered and are down compared to the last quarter. A weak global and local economy could be the factor behind the latest fall in prices. 

There is some glimmer of hope though as Apartment sale prices in Colombo have slightly increased and house + land prices in the northern province shows further increases. The land prices of Southern, Central and Western (apart from Colombo) have also gone up, however Colombo land prices have dropped. 

We have also noticed that most advertiser reduce their asking price after few days of posting their ads.

The full stats of the latest house price index can be found at http://www.lankapropertyweb.com/house_prices.php

Tourists seek cheaper accommodation

Tourists, this winter season are looking for low-priced accommodation, a development that has affected hotels and resorts with the season not attracting travellers to today’s “expensive” hotels. More visitors are arriving and the target of one million arrivals would be achieved but they find star-class hotels too expensive since the war ended with prices increasing since 2009.

Reasons for the sudden shift in tourist preferences were also blamed on the recession in Europe and increased regional competition. Jayantissa Kehelpannala, Sector Head Sri Lankan Resorts of the John Keells Hotels Group and newly appointed Hotels Association President, speaking to the Business Times admitted there was a drop in bookings but remained cautiously optimistic that nothing could be predicted today since last-minute reservations were observed lately in the winter season. As at now “there is a drop but I emphasise the booking patterns have changed drastically,” he said.

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(Source: Sunday Times)

Construction industry hits a brick wall

Construction industry representatives say that the recent cement price increase would have a devastating effect on their projects.�“The current situation is a blow to the entire construction industry, as the recent price increase is the second for this year”, Sri Lanka institute of Architects Registration Board Chairman Architect Jayantha Perera told the Sunday Times.
He said not only contractors, but laborers in the industry, such as bricklayers and helpers, as well as subcontractors who are raw material providers, cement product providers and others involved with the construction industry, will be badly affected by the price increase.

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(Source: Sunday Times)

Hyatt International to manage Hyatt Regency Colombo at Celestial Towers

Hyatt International South West Asia Ltd, affiliated to Hyatt Hotels Corporation entered into a management agreement with Sinolanka Hotels and Spa on Friday to manage the Hyatt Regency Colombo hotel at the state-acquired Celestial Residencies, better known as Celestial Towers, at Kollupitiya.

The site is one of the iconic properties of collapsed Ceylinco group of companies and was acquired under the Revival of Under performing Enterprises and Underutilized Assets Act as an under performing asset.

The project, expected to be completed by December 2013, will be developed as a five-star luxury hotel complex consisting of approximately 565 rooms with around 94,000 square meters in built up area and 43 stories in height.

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(Source: Sunday Times)

Indian company gets huge project in Fort

One of the City’s major landmarks is to be given to an Indian company for development on a 99-year lease for more than Rs 4.9 billion.

The land encompasses the Transworks House, a colonial building that once housed the former Public Works Department (PWD). The building is documented as a place of archaeological value.

A recommendation by President Mahinda Rajapaksa for this deal has been endorsed by the cabinet. It will see the local subsidiary of Krrish Group with its registered offices in New Delhi undertaking a “mixed development project” with the construction of a high rise “Transworks Tower.”

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(Source: Sunday Times)