By Manoj Bhadra Colombo: The Port City in Colombo will be a vibrant financial centre that fosters a living, working and learning environment unmatched in South Asia, officials said. Port City is being envisioned to enhance Colombo Port’s status globally, particularly in South Asia, through the addition of financial and economic resources. The first of its kind in Sri Lanka, the Master Plan was developed in consultation with SWECO of Sweden, Atkins of the UK and Suburna Jurong of Singapore. A Master Plan and Development Control Regulations (DCR) has been set out for all the 269 hectares of reclaimed land to provide development regulations on urban design, utilities, landscaping and sustainability. Saliya Wickramasuriya, spokesperson for Colombo Port City Economic Commission, told visiting journalists from India on Tuesday: “Port City will be a modern metropolis with state-of-the-art infrastructure, blessed with Sri Lanka’s tropical beauty supported by world class administrative efficiencies provided at globally competitive process. “Sri Lanka already enjoys a 70-80 per cent cost advantage in the cost of doing business in comparison with Singapore and Dubai. This will be further enhanced within Port City.” He added: “Port City Colombo offers access to a thriving region poised for future growth and development as a key link between Asia and the West. Promoting cross-border trade and investment is a key priority as we identify services sector growth as a key strategy for our economic recovery.” He invited Indian and global businesses to leverage the many investment incentives curated in Port City to enable enterprises to benefit from the state-of-the-art modern infrastructure embracing principle of sustainable developments. Yamuna Jayaratne, Director Sales and Marketing, Port City, said: “The entire 269 hectares of land is owned by the Government of Sri Lanka and governed by the Port City Economic Commission. Port City is envisioned to be a modern metropolis city providing residential, hospitality, financial and entertainment assets.” The officials said that all the issues related to environmental hazards due to reclamation of ocean land has been taken care of. Besides, funds have been allotted for livelihood of the fishermen hit by the land reclamation. Port City will also feature a large landscaped green shaded walkway and waterways. Port City is Sri Lanka’s first Special Economic Zone (SEZ) to help the country to be positioned as South Asia’s largest multi-services hub including ICT, Financial Services, logistics and other allied services. UNI MB MR
