Orion City focuses on massive expansion drive

By Shabiya Ali Ahlam

Q: How did you come up with such a concept?

A: I started an IT company with my brother five years ago and we were finding it difficult to find office space. Experiencing challenges in starting up, I thought of creating office space as well. As soon as our board accepted the concept, office space conversions took place and our first client Virtusa walked in with the intention of residing in Orion City. From then on, we have experienced steady growth.

Q: What is the project all about?

A: The first of its kind in Sri Lanka, the project consists of developing three million square feet specifically for IT and BOP related work. We now have 16 acres of land and an investment of US$ 500 million for over five to 10 years has been projected for the concept. This is a large scale project the group is trying to take forward.

Q: How much has been invested in Orion City so far?

A: Easily about US$ 50 million since inception to now.

 Q: Where is the 16 acres of land located?

A: The entire 16 acres is concentrated in the Colombo 9 complex itself. However, in two years time we hope look at other destinations as well. Depending on Government assistance, we may consider Kandy and Hambantota as future options.

Q: Most of IT setups are established in Colombo. Is there a need in Hambantota or Kandy for such IT parks?

A: We are not looking to venture out right now but we hope to do so in about two years time and by then, costs in Colombo will understandably be higher than what they are now. Therefore, we predict companies will look for alternate destinations with lower costs in order to sustain their businesses.

When looking at alternate destinations, the availability of efficient human resources is mandatory as the key raw material for this industry is human capital. While finding smart and educated individuals to run this industry is possible only in Colombo at the moment, in the future we will need to look for other locations with efficient human capital.

Q: What are the facilities available at Orion City?

A: We have the office space that we develop to suit the client’s requirements. While we have food courts as a common facility, a few of our clients are offered recreational areas where they will have gaming and billiard rooms. A gymnasium is now being constructed and will be made available on a membership basis once complete.

Q: So the office space is customised?

A: It depends on the size the client requires. Pearson, an education based firm, wanted a very modern office and we catered to their specific needs. Some clients come in wanting 200 seats that are prebuilt, and in that scenario, we invest in capital expenditure while they operate on an operational expenditure model.

Q: Tell us about the Orion nest concept.

A: The nest concept is specifically there to promote the start-up culture and those who have taken up nest spaces are very small enterprises requiring only two or three seats. They act as incubators for entrepreneurs wanting to test their business ideas. Since they cannot afford to invest in office space, for a small monthly fee, we take on that responsibility. We are an active part of the Spark IT competition as well and sponsor the selected talents by giving them office space for a period of one year.

Q: How much is the monthly fee for the next spaces?

A: It is about Rs. 10,000 per seat which includes the space, utilities, internet coverage etc.

Q: What makes this IT park unique?

A: It is the first initiative of its kind in Sri Lanka but it is not unique from a global perspective. I think it is important to have facilities such as Orion City in Sri Lanka since we are competing on a global scale with India, Vietnam and lot of other new destinations that are coming up providing BPO services. If we want to make a difference, we certainly need facilities like the one we have established and I am very satisfied to see how far it has come.

Q: What companies are housed here?

A: Our largest tenant is Virtusa and we also have Emphasis, Pearson, Synergix and the SriLankan Airlines call centre among the 15 companies that are housed in Orion City.

Q: How does Orion City help promote the IT industry to make it competitive from a global perspective?

A: There are various indicators that need to be met when we promote the country in this field and one of the main indicators looked into is infrastructure development for IT and BPO. In that scope, Sri Lanka looks quite good because of the facilities that we at Orion City have provided. It is only one aspect of global competitiveness but I think it is an important one since we need to have the infrastructure in place to move forward.

Q: The IT park is supported by ICTA, SLASSCOM and the BOI. What are their roles in this project?

A: The ICTA in general helps us by handling the human capacity component, where they provide various training grants. This helps us greatly as if a company wants to set up operations here, one of the advantages in our favour is that we provide such marketing and training grants for Sri Lankan entities. The BOI has been great as they offer tax incentives as per their mandate. Most of our clients are a part of SLASSCOM, it being an industry body, so they help us promote and advance the industry.

Q: You mentioned that there is a plan to develop three million square feet for office space and that it will be completed by 2015. What progress has been made in reaching that target?

A: With the new ongoing construction, we have about 200,000 square feet coming in, bringing us up to 500,000 square feet which fulfils one-sixth of the projected development. Every year, we plan to build at least 200,000 square feet which will help us remain competitive continuously. With regard to reaching the target by 2015, it depends on the investments and occupancy as well. We have already taken up the development of another 400,000 square feet and if that space gets taken up quickly, we can start planning the next phase of expansion.

Q: What are the plans for 2013?

A: We are looking to add value through shared infrastructure by bringing in more retail space. We are looking into building data centres as well this year, in addition to developing 200,000 square feet of office space.