Amunugama visits the Kandy City Centre Project

Dr Sarath Amunugama, Minister of Enterprise Development and Investment Promotion, last week formally unveiled the different stages of the Kandy City Centre project. This huge commercial centre is a BOI flagship project, which includes an international standard shopping mall and modern car park. It will be completed in a few months time and will be one of the landmarks in the historic city.

The project is on a 12-acre land, which was earlier occupied by Walkers, a leading commercial establishment. The Kandy City Centre has been designed to blend in with the local buildings, combining modernity with the traditional Kandyan style of architecture, according to a BOI statement.

“While this was not a formal opening, the unveiling of the board that showed the different stages of the development of the project was an eye-opener to all present of the impact this project will have on the city of Kandy,” the statement said.

Investor Thusitha Wijayasena who described the various stages of construction, then briefed Dr Amunugama. Thereafter, a visit to the centre followed where Wijayasena showed the minister, a visiting delegation from the ministry and the BOI, a model of the completed project in addition to a photograph display that included the earlier visit to the project by President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Speaking at the project site, Dr Amunugama said it was the single most important addition to Kandy since the times of the last dynasty of kings who ruled the city. “It is important that there are investors such as Mr. Wijayasena willing to take risks to implement projects in spite of the many hurdles.

Private sector initiative often produces results. A project of this nature will encourage travel from Colombo to Kandy and with better road; the travel time will also be reduced. As Kandy becomes even more attractive and better equipped with modern facilities, the potential for tourism, especially conventional tourism will also be greatly enhanced,” he said in a press release.