The President’s Office says that it is planned to start the operations of the tallest building in the country, ‘Nelum Kulun’, from September 15. It has been built at a cost of nearly 113 million US dollars. A spokesperson of the President’s Office also mentions that “Colombo Lotus Tower Private Company” has taken measures to provide many new experiences to the people with the commencement of the operations of the ‘Nelum Kulun’.
The construction of the tower was started in 2012. It was handed over to the Sri Lankan government after completing the construction on February 28, 2022. It is said that the Chinese company has given 88.65 US dollars for this and the rest has been used by the Sri Lankan government. The loan installment payments are scheduled to be completed by the year 2024. A total of 66.3936 million US dollars of those loans have already been paid off without any income from the tower.
Colombo Nelum Kuluna private company
Colombo, Nelum Kuluna Private Company is a company established in March this year under the Treasury. All its transactions are said to be audited by the Auditor General’s Department. Retired Major General Prasad Samarasinghe, Chief Administrative Officer of Colombo Nelum Kuluna Pvt. said.
He says that so far 80% of local investors and 20% of foreign investors have invested in the Lotus Tower. Meanwhile, he says that he has discussed with 58 investors and 22 of them are willing to enter into agreements with them.
With the start of operations here, anyone can get a ticket and experience the environment inside the tower. A ticket for it costs Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 for local visitors. A foreigner must get a ticket of 20 US dollars for that.
It is said that anyone who gets a ticket of Rs 2,000 can enter the premises without waiting in queues. At least a few times they can go up the tower. But a person who gets the ticket of 500 rupees can go up to the tower only once. It is said that there are plans to introduce a QR code instead of the ticket in the next few months.
People visiting the Lotus Tower can experience famous restaurants and souvenir shops on the ground floor. It is said that several famous commercial banks are also planned to be established on the ground floor. The first floor is expected to be used for office facilities and a digital cinema is also included here.
The third floor is equipped with a conference hall that can accommodate about 400 people at a time. The open floor is designed to be available for various entertainment activities.
The lotus bud-shaped first floor houses a conference hall that can seated up to 400 people. The top floor is equipped with a revolving elevator. The President’s Media Division says that it is possible to enjoy a new experience “under the Colombo sky” in the highest viewing room.
Nelum Kuluna has three of the fastest elevators in Sri Lanka and it has been designed under Japanese technology.