COLOMBO- The first mega development project of the Port City Colombo, the ‘Downtown Duty Free Shopping complex’ will be opened in next April Colombo Port City Economic Commission Acting Director General, Dr. Priyath Bandu Wickrama said.
In an interview with Daily News Business he said most of the groundwork of the complex has been completed. “Most importantly we have found a player to operate the duty free complex.”
He said that the company which will operate the duty free complex at the Port City Colombo is among the top three operators in the world and this would be the biggest best duty free complexes in the South Asian region.”
This operator will also bring in a chain of global brands to Sri Lanka and most of the shop spaces would be filled by this player. “In addition we have also received two more inquiries towards operating shops in the International Duty Free Shopping complex.” Dr. Wickrama also said that the current import ban would not affect this operation since these parties would not be using Sri Lanka dollars to import merchandise.
He said that the duty Free complex would be a major tourism landmark in Sri Lanka to woo tourists and help Sri Lanka to transform into a mega shopping destination in the region. Downtown Duty-Free is also expected to attract a huge clientele from neighboring countries especially India as the huge mall will be even bigger than the Mustafa Complex in Singapore which is a preferred destination for Indian tourists.(CDN)
