Colombo Land COO on re-vamping project of Liberty Plaza

Following is the speech by Colombo Land and Development Plc Chief Operating Office Dharshan Jayadeva at the ceremony on the launch of the revamping of the Liberty Plaza project last week:

Minister of Investment Promotions Honorable Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena, Honorable Namal Rajapaksa, Member of Parliament, Mayor of Colombo Municipal Council A.J.M. Muzammil, UDA Chairman Nimal Perera, UDA Director General Nihal Fernando and distinguished guests; it is indeed a pleasure to welcome all of you on behalf of the Board of Directors of Colombo Land and Development Company PLC.

Today is a very special day for our company. This is the beginning of a new journey. As you are aware we are one of the pioneers in real estate development. We are on a property which was one of the first shopping complexes in Sri Lanka and I am honoured to take a few moments to reflect back on the history of our Company.

Colombo Land came in to existence in 1982. This came as a result of a joint venture between UDA Sri Lanka and Clarisssa Private Ltd of Singapore. Liberty Plaza was originally planned as a 100% UDA project. However due to unavoidable circumstances this project came to a halt.  

During that time the Government of Sri Lanka called for tenders internationally to develop similar projects including the Liberty Plaza; the intention then was to promote Public Private Partnership. Unfortunately there were not many contenders as our Country’s economy just opened.

The Singaporean Government recommended two well known real estate developers one was S.P. Tao who went on to complete the World Trade Centre and the other was Ng Eng Ghee who successfully developed the Liberty Plaza which was the first ever shopping mall of international standards. Ng Eng Ghee brought in a substantial investment to the country at a time when many foreign investors were reluctant to invest in Sri Lanka due to various reasons and uncertainties.

Having seen the successful completion of Liberty Plaza, UDA further entrusted Ng Eng Ghee to develop People’s Park Complex in Pettah.  This project also was successfully completed in 1986. It is appropriate to recognise Ng Eng Ghee’s contribution to the real estate sector in Sri Lanka. Ng Eng Ghee hails from a family which is involved in real estate development for three generations. With his foresight and vision he even contributed in writing the initial Condominium Rules and Regulations in Sri Lanka. He also sponsored a team of officials to visit Singapore to study the Singaporean Condominium Rules prevailing at that time.

When Colombo Land was incorporated the Singaporean partners had 70% stake and 30% was owned by UDA.  Subsequently to practice more transparency the Company was listed in the Colombo Stock Exchange in 1986.  Currently the Singaporean’s stake has reduced to 24% the balance 76% is held by Sri Lankan entities and the public in which UDA has 17.5% stake.

Today the company has a multitude of expertise and dynamic Board members; namely Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda (former commander of Navy and presently Sri Lankan Ambassador to Japan), Ali Sabry (President’s Counsel) Dilith Jayaweera (Pioneer in the Advertising field and the Chairman of George Stuart Group), Professor Krishan Deheragoda (Former Chairman of UDA, Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority and presently Consultant to the Ministry of Higher Education and Prof. at the Department of Geography at Sri Jayawardenapura university), Dr. Nalaka Godahewa (Director UDA), Managala Gunathilaka (who is an Accountant by profession and also holds Directorship in many public quoted companies), and the two Singaporean Directors Ng Yew Tong and Ng Yao Xing, Eugene (Junior Ng Eng Ghee).

We are indeed delighted to say that our Singaporean partners are still sharing their expertise in the real estate development which would definitely add value to our economy in this sector.

The Government of Sri Lanka has begun a new era and has created a positive environment to go forward. With so many constructions taking place and investors coming forward with this positive change, our company also decided that it is very important to revitalise this land mark Liberty Plaza.

This proposed revamping project will definitely contribute to the ongoing Colombo beautification initiative done by Ministry of Defence and Urban Development along with Colombo Municipal Council.

Having studied the retail market, we see a growing demand with the increase of tourist patronising in our country which amounted to more than a million last year. Our plan is to add 70,000 square feet to the existing 100,000 square feet at Liberty Plaza.  

The proposed facade around the building will have video walls to cater for the digital advertising. This unique concept would be introduced for the first time in Sri Lanka. This development will also bring in an additional car park deck along with two floors of retail, with a state-of-the-art food court, declared open today. We also acquired the property adjacent to the southern car park in Duplication Road last year. We are currently converting that in to a retail mall which is being named as Liberty Arcade which will bring in another 30,000 square feet additional retail space which will comprise of retail, as well as food and beverage space. This project will be launched for the forthcoming Sinhala and Tamil New Year.

It is a promising and an optimistic future for Colombo Land. Thank you for being here with us to share the beginning of this new phase. Hope you enjoy and have a wonderful evening.

Thank you.