UDA gearing to call RFPs for Chalmers Granaries land seeking US $ 1bn investment

• RFPs to be called in two months; open for mixed development project
• Property rebranded as ‘Golden Gateway to Port City’

By Nishel Fernando
The Urban Development Authority (UDA) is gearing to call requests for proposals (RFPs) for a high-rise mixed development project on the Chalmers Granaries land, which is now branded as ‘Golden Gateway to Port City’, seeking US $ 1 billion investment.

The 3.92-hectare Chalmers Granary land, which is located opposite of the Colombo Fort railway station, has been proposed to be given on a 99-year lease to prospective investor/s.

Although the Finance Ministry has been attempting to lure foreign direct investments to the project under the single bidder method since last year, no Expression of Interest (EOI) has been received up to now.  Hence, the UDA is now preparing to call for RFPs for the project.  “We will call for RFPs within the next two months,” a top UDA official told Mirror Business.

The land is valued at US $ 100 million and the investment requirement for the project is estimated at US $ 900 million. With a potential footprint of 200,208 square feet, the internal rate of return (IRR) is estimated at over 15 percent per annum, with a five-year payback period.

The UDA official noted that foreign investors still could submit their investment proposals under the single bidder method to the Finance Ministry, which would be evaluated by the Cabinet-appointed management committee for investments.

He said the land is open for residential, commercial and office space investments. “There are no restrictions, except for educational purposes,” he added.  The Chalmers Granary land has been available for investment at least since 2010 and the UDA didn’t succeed to lease the land to any investor/s in multiple attempts.   In 2019, the UDA attempted to attract investors to develop the land as a mixed development project, with several financing options. However, investor interest waned following the Easter Sunday bomb attacks.