By Jithendra Antonio
With a view making the Excel World a top entertainment park in the city of Colombo, Browns Investments (BIL) plans to invest another US $ 100 million in developing the Excel World property, probably with a few foreign parties, a top official from Browns Investments said.
Kamantha Amarasekera, Non Executive Director, BIL told Mirror Business that the company recently acquired the holding company of Excel World, for a consideration of nearly one billion rupees.
“We will invest at least a minimum of another US $ 100 million to add a shopping mall, service apartments, multi-storied car park and a water park making this a mixed development project. Colombo doesn’t have a good car park, and it will be ideal to develop the existing car park at Excel World to accommodate more vehicles,”
“The whole plan is a ‘Mega project’ and we will be talking to operators to run it” Amarasekera said adding that the company will also look in to opportunities in future to add a star-class hotel to Excel World that would be managed by an international operator.
“As the population in Colombo is set to increase from current level of 3 million to 7.5 million in next two decades, we want to take Colombo to the position of Kuala Lumpur in another 20 to 30 years time” he said adding that Browns group is buoyant about acquiring premier real estate properties in Colombo.
He also said that Browns group is already buying lands to the extent of 100 to 200 perches in the close proximity of the premier commercial premises.
“We invested in the holding company of Excel World, the Excel Global Holdings (Pvt) Ltd and some other properties that are owned by them that will also be under our portfolio. Excel Global Holdings (Pvt) Ltd Chairman Francis Chokatte will also be in the Browns group until the Excel World is developed to a Mega-mixed development property” Amarasekera noted.
Originally a land owned by Catholic Church of Colombo, in March 2003, then titled ‘Millennium Park’, the country’s only leisure and entertainment complex was earlier acquired by Excel Global Holdings (Pvt) Ltd, a cash-rich multi sectoral business group headed by Chairman Francis Chokatte and family, in major private transaction with Millennium Development (Pvt) Ltd and was renamed as ‘Excel World’.
Then ‘Millennium Park’ was owned by Millennium Development (Pvt) Ltd, the company that owned and managed the landmark five-acre Colombo complex, from Link Holdings Ltd, and the Union Bank.
According to the Browns official, the original lease agreement entered into by Excel Global Holdings with the owners of the land is spanning for two terms each spreading for 40 years starting from 2003.
“So we have another 72 years, according to the lease agreement to operate and run this property which is almost like an outright purchase” he said.
BIL’s shares are scheduled to debut in the market tomorrow. The firm raised Rs.250 million, offering 50 million shares each priced at Rs.5.
source - www.dailymirror.lk
No comments:
Post a Comment