In a progressive move President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has stepped in to complete the multi-billion rupee and the city’s iconic high rise property development Altair which is three years behind schedule and facing legal battle between overseas promoters.
Rajapaksa has appointed urban development veteran and Colombo Hilton owning company Hotel Developers (Lanka) PLC Chairman Nimal Perera as the Special Authorised Officer to fast-track the completion of Altair, which is a 400-apartment luxury mixed development. It was to be completed and handed over to the owners in 2017 or three years ago.
The delay has been extended and complicated by a dispute between overseas-based shareholders of the Altair promoter Indocean Developers Ltd., and the case is before the Commercial High Court in Colombo.
Sources told the Daily FT that the appointment of Perera was without prejudice to the ongoing battle of investors and promoters who are based in Calcutta, India and Singapore. Perera has been engaging with promoters, buyers and bankers.
President Rajapaksa’s intervention follows concerns expressed by buyers of the apartments as well as urban development planners. Incidentally, Altair was the first project cleared by Rajapaksa when he was the Secretary of the Ministry of Urban Development under the Special Development Projects Act, whilst Perera was the Chairman of the Urban Development Authority. The duo was responsible for major uplifts in urban development during their tenure.
Of the 400 units, only 270 have been bought whilst the rest (30%) are in various stages of the sales procedure. Most of the buyers had either fully settled the payments or are in near complete stages. The average cost per square foot for some of the original buyers is estimated at $ 325 as against the more newer options such as Shangri-La and ITC which ranged around $ 450 and $ 500 per square foot.
(FT)