Deputy Chairman of the World Capital Centre (WCC), Dr. Senaka de Silva declared that the WCC was one hundred percent a private business, and as such, would be constructed solely with the funding of foreign direct investments.
He proceeded to declare that not a single cent would be obtained from local banks.
Deputy Chairman Dr. Senaka de Silva expressed these sentiments at a press conference yesterday (19), which was held to discuss the Al Aman Group’s World Capital Centre project, which was proposed to become the 9th tallest building in the world following completion.
Adding on to the Deputy Chairman’s sentiments, Senior Deputy Chairman, Vivek Anandarajah stated that funding for the project would come through appropriate channels, but refused to disclose the names of the funding companies when requested to do so by a reporter.
You don’t design a project after securing funding, Vivek Anandarajah said, and added: you get funding after a portion of the design segment is concluded.
The spotlight was shone on the WCC project after media not long ago reported that the company had published suspicious information on their website.
We don’t want to bluff anyone, Dr. Senaka de Silva said, addressing the press conference.
He also verified that the website had been taken down after the media broadcast, for which he cited the reason to be “maintenance.”
According to Deputy Chairman Dr. de Silva, the building was proposed in accordance with the Government’s Western Regional Megapolis Master Plan.
2,400 white collar jobs will be created for the Sri Lankan work force through the implementation of this project, he said.
Various statements were made by the representatives of the project regarding shareholding, project registration, funding through investments, other projects under the WCC, operations in international branches, and the gaining of approval from the Board of Investment (BOI).
There were discrepancies in the answers given in response to the journalists’ questions, which consequently led to a heated situation.
Various questions were raised as to whether the parent company was based locally or overseas, for which, contradictory responses were given by different personnel.
We are struggling, and we want you to stand with us and not against us, to make this project a success, Dr. Senaka de Silva said, addressing the media, as the situation got heated.
Furthermore, Dr. Senaka de Silva declared that USD 2 million had been acquired for the firm’s day-to-day expenses with regard to the proposed WCC project, but proceeded to add that project construction had not in fact commenced as of yet.
He also revealed that although three locations had been shortlisted, a final decision had not been made on the definite location for the project’s construction.
The proposed 117-storeyed WCC building is expected to consist of two towers, each 625 m tall.
The project is estimated to cost USD 2.4 billion.
Drawing attention to the estimated cost of the project, Dr. de Silva explained that USD 1.2 billion would be allocated for the construction itself, whereas an additional USD 1.2 billion would be required to fund secondary tasks such as interior designing.
The representatives presiding over the media briefing stated that the building would be the 9th tallest building in the world after construction was completed, and added that the building would include a hotel worthy of a seven-star rating.
Director Dr. Arosha Fernando and WCC Attorney S. P. Sriskantha were also present at the press conference, which was held at the Al Aman Group’s WCC headquarters.
