Sri Lanka Tea exporters want Tea Hub in Hambantota

Rohan Fernando

In the wake of the ‘Tea Hub’ concept not gaining much acceptance by the government authorities, the Tea Exporters Association (TEA) is to present a fresh set of proposals soon, this time for the formation of a Strategic Business Unit (SBU) in Hambantota, a top official told The Nation Gain last week.

According to the TEA Chairman Rohan Fernando, the new proposals would entail the setting up of a total value addition center for tea in the Southern region which would provide the required space for exporters to compete with any other top brands in the market by not having too many restrictions placed on the SBU.

Colombo lacks A Grade quality office space

Sri Lanka’s commercial capital, Colombo city is currently facing a dearth in supply of globally competitive corporate space as the demand for quality commercial space is rising, creating a huge opportunity for both existing and future office space developers, a recent study on the property sector by a local brokerage firm has pointed out. According to report titled ‘Colombo, a Modern City in the Making’ published by TKS Research currently the only sizeable designated office space in Colombo is just over two million square feet with occupancy at A grade office space averaging at 98% or almost fully occupied.

“With the receipt of peace dividend in 2009, a huge demand was created for office space in Colombo which, in turn, doubled the rental yield. Although four years have passed since then, still no major office space is added to the capacity,” the Volume II of the report released last week stated.It noted that with the development in the country into a services hub and increasing presence of international/multinational companies, a rapid augmentation of the corporate sector standards is evident in Sri Lanka and therefore, the country is currently in much need of globally competitive corporate space.