Krrish square saga plods on

The government is considering an option of handing over the land allocated to the delayed Krrish project in Fort to another investor, authoritative sources revealed.

The process, being studied, would involve the new investor paying the rental upfront and that money being used to return the money Krrish has already paid as part of the lease rental.

At least two big Chinese and Saudi Arabian foreign investors have approached the government to take over the property by settling the lease payment, their local agents told the Business Times.

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(Source: Sunday Times)

Krrish project now confronted with environmental issues

The Krrish square mixed development project tainted by scandalous financial deals is yet to get the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) approval to kick-start the project, informed sources said.

The Transworks building site at Colombo Fort leased by Delhi-based group Krrish is environmentally not suitable for a mega mixed development project, environmental experts have said. The Business Times learns that a leading environmental consultancy service which carried out a preliminary EIA has concluded that the site located in the heart of Colombo Fort was not feasible for such a mega project as it will create heavy vehicular traffic in peak hours and environmental pollution due to emissions and waste disposal. Recommendations made in the EIA report have not been followed by the investors, Environment Ministry sources said adding that EIA approval on drawings and building plans is essential before the test filling.

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(Source: Sunday Times)

Krrish scandal sets stage for a major shake-up at SEC

The Colombo Krrish Square scandal over alleged kickbacks received by a prominent official to secure the legal rights to develop the Transworks property at Colombo Fort is to claim its first victim setting the stage for a major shake-up in the country’s capital market regulator, informed official sources said.

Construction work of the project has come to a standstill and the massive hoardings advertising the Krrish towers have disappeared and no statements are forthcoming from anyone on the current status.

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(Source: Sunday Times)

Sri Lanka leases out land for Packer-linked casino

Sri Lanka has leased some prime real estate in the capital to a local casino operator who is expected to develop a $350 million entertainment complex with Australian gambling mogul James Packer, an official said Monday.

The cabinet gave final approval last month to lease the lakefront land to a company set up by Sri Lanka's top casino operator, Rank Holdings, for 2.78 billion rupees ($22.28 million dollars), the official said.

"The land is given to the Sri Lankan company which is in partnership with the Crown group (of Packer)," the official from the investment promotion ministry told AFP on condition of anonymity.

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(Source: Global Post)

Chinese firm Avic gets special status for a mixed development Colombo project

The Sri Lanka Government has given strategic investment project status to the US$300 million mixed development project of Avic International Corporation in a prime property in Colombo.

The ‘Colpetty Mills’ land extending to 542 perches is owned by Shaw Wallace and Hedges PLC and a large slice was sold to Avic, a top official of the company, an influential group with lot of Sri Lankan Government contracts, said. The land has access from both Galle Road and Duplication Road.

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(Source: Sunday Times)

Lankan homes open out to tourists

Sri Lanka is encouraging more and more local families to open their homes to tourists and earn money in the process while increasing the room stock from this category to 10,000 by 2016.

The country is targetting 2.5 million visitors by 2016 and currently has 23,000 rooms compared to the 45,000 rooms needed to meet the five-fold increase from less than 500,000 in 2009. Currently there are about 300 homes of below five rooms each listed in the Sri Lanka Tourism website as ‘homestays’ providing a total of less than 1,000 rooms.

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(Source: Sunday Times)

Re-construction of partly built Celestial Towers expedited to accommodate CHOGM delegates

In a desperate effort to provide accommodation for foreign delegates of the November Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Colombo, re-construction of the state-acquired Celestial Residencies, better known as Celestial Towers at Kollupitiya has been expedited on a Government directive, officials said.

The building at the former Ceylinco Group-owned property is being fast-tracked to be completed by October 2013 against the earlier schedule completion date of July 2014

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(Source: Sunday Times)