Surbana Jurong & JOIN delegation visit Sri Lanka
Senior delegates from the Surbana Jurong (SJ) Group and the Japan Overseas Infrastructure Investment Corporation for Transport & Urban Development (JOIN) visited Colombo, Sri Lanka on 23 and 24 February 2017. The delegates included SJ Chairman Liew Mun Leong, Group CEO Wong Heang Fine, CEO International (Africa, Americas, ANZ, SAME) Andy Goodwin and JOIN President & CEO Takuma Hatano. This is the first time SJ and JOIN are jointly exploring opportunities in Sri Lanka, which builds on our MOU inked in September of last year to cooperate in overseas urban and infrastructure projects.
Sri Lanka is a key growth market for SJ. The Sri Lankan economy has grown steadily since 2004 and is projected to grow rapidly over the next 15 to 20 years. Colombo, the capital city of Sri Lanka, is an important administrative and economic centre, and due to its strategic location along the international shipping route, has been advancing as an international gateway to Sri Lanka. This has resulted in the finance and services sector becoming one of the biggest economic drivers in the city, which is experiencing high demand for office towers and commercial developments. Other sectors identified as key economic drivers include: Information Technology (IT), science and bio-medical; port, airport, logistics and other transport related services; tourism; and manufacturing.
The visiting delegation met with Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe and several key Principals from other Ministries including,
- Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade Malik Devapriya Samarawickrama
- Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation Nimal Siripala de Silva
- Minister of Higher Education and Highways Lakshman Kiriella
- Minister of Ports and Shipping Arjuna Ranatunga
- Minister of Megapolis and Western Development Champika Ranawaka
On 24 February, SJ hosted a cocktail reception for key clients and partners at the Taj Samudra Hotel. Also in attendance were representatives from the Singapore High Commission, the Australian High Commission and the Japanese Embassy.
The trip was a resounding success, and gave the SJ Group a platform to showcase its project experience throughout Sri Lanka, which includes the Western Region Master Plan, the Colombo-Katunayake Expressway, the Colombo Port City Master Plan, the Northern Expressway and the Greater Colombo Wastewater Management Project.
In addition, SJ recently secured a new master planning project for the Trincomalee district in the northeast of Sri Lanka, which has been identified as one of the national growth centres. SJ’s role is to prepare a concept plan for Trincomalee district and an integrated detailed master plan for Trincomalee metro area. Project scope includes: vision and programming, socio-economic positioning, concept plan, detailed master plan, urban design plan for city centre and an implementation plan.
