Jaffna apartments offer unique opportunity for Sri Lankan property investors
21 September 2015 06:30 pm
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The completion of the first luxury residential apartment in Jaffna has seen a strong response from domestic and international investors keen to capitalise on the growing regional economy.
The six-storey building, which includes 36 two-bedroom, two bathroom-units, is now ready for occupation and most of its units have already been sold, so investors should act quickly to secure the remaining apartments. The city centre apartments, which cost Rs.17 million (around US $ 122,000), feature top-quality fixtures and fittings, amenities, air-conditioning and security features.
Sanjana Fernando (former investment banker at Goldman Sachs and HSBC), Chief Executive Officer of Sri Lanka’s leading apartment website, WolvertApartments.com, said, “As the only luxury residential development in the north of the country, it offers an ideal investment for professionals from Sri Lanka as well as expats from Canada, the UK, Australia and other countries.”
It is the first development in Sri Lanka to incorporate a two-bed, two-key system, so owners can use their apartment as one large two-bedroom unit or as two separate single bedroom units, which provides maximum flexibility for buy-to-let investors. It also features a restaurant, laundry facilities, CCTV system in the main lobby and 24-hour security, on-site electricity generators, water storage facilities and a water treatment plant to ensure vital services are always available.
Jaffna, the capital of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka, has significant growth potential due to the lack of development during the civil war, which ended in 2009. The 12th largest city in Sri Lanka has a population of more than 88,000, most of whom are Sri Lankan Tamils, and it is set to benefit from the appointment of R. Sampanthan M.P., the head of Tamil National Alliance, as the Opposition Leader of Sri Lanka’s Parliament.
Prior to the civil war, Jaffna was the second largest city in Sri Lanka, which illustrates its growth potential. “Slowly but surely re-emerging as a bastion of Hindu tradition, art and creative culture, Jaffna is once again welcoming visitors and looking to rise again,” said the Lonely Planet Guide.
There are estimated to be more than one million Tamil expats in the West, with the largest communities in Canada, the UK, the United States, Germany, France and Switzerland. Foreign citizens are able to buy condominium property in Sri Lanka, as long as they are on or above the fourth floor, so the six-storey Tulasi Mahal is an ideal choice.
The apartments have been designed and built by the reputed Sanken Construction, one of Sri Lanka’s leading construction companies. Sanken Group Chairman Mahen Weerasekara said it is proud to be associated with the pioneering development in the prime residential area of Jaffna, which offers a very high-quality standard of accommodation “not experienced before in the north of Sri Lanka”.
The Sri Lanka economy is expected to grow by more than 7 percent in 2015. In the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index 2014-15, Sri Lanka ranked 73 out of 144 countries, placing it ahead of other emerging economies including Kenya, Greece and Ukraine.