Page 32 - CPM Sri Lanka-Chartered Manager-Sept. 2021

THE INSTITUTE OF CHARTERED PROFESSIONAL MANAGERS OF SRI LANKA
SEPTEMBER 2021

Foreign Direct Investments and foreign exchange
earnings are the need of the hour in the Sri
Lankan economy. How soon can Port City
draw investment into Sri Lanka and contribute
towards the economy?

The investment made thus far is only the tip of the
iceberg, we estimate the investment requirement
to develop the real estate is $ 13.5bn, at today’s cost.
This presents exciting opportunities not only for the
construction and materials sectors but also for the
Services sector including SMEs to provide required
goods and services to Port City, which would be
considered as a deemed export as payment for such
procurement would be in foreign currency which
will ensure inflow of much needed foreign exchange.
The economic value added post completion of real
estate development and once operational, would be
a much larger and recurring contribution to GDP of
Sri Lanka.

The first step to realizing investments was initiated
during July of last year, just as we were coming out
of a two-month lockdown. Our Parent Company
committed a further $ 1 bn investment towards the
first mixed use development within the Financial
District. This first development will have the iconic
Colombo International Financial Centre tower, which
is scheduled to break ground before end of 2021 and
is expected to be ready for occupation by mid-2025.

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