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Altair sets the benchmark inspiring others in the industry: Sushil Mohta

10 Nov 2021

South City Projects (Kolkata) Ltd. Director and Shareholder Sushil Mohta, in a retrospective interview on the ceremonial opening of the iconic Altair Colombo real estate project, said that despite the challenges, Altair is a reality today, towering as Sri Lanka’s tallest residential condominium. Once only a design dream of celebrated architect Moshe Safdie, Altair has become an opening for high-net-worth real estate investors and premium penthouse residents who wish to choose the best. Following are excerpts of the interview. As a real estate investor, what attracted you to Sri Lanka when other investment destinations of potential too were present in the region? We first came to Colombo in 2011 to explore the investment opportunities in real estate and found that the country was ready to change for the better; we found it to be a roaring tiger with many opportunities. The lovely city had its colonial atmosphere, architecture, green surroundings, urban-scape, hospitable inhabitants, and new opportunities. In addition, an investor-friendly government and the ease of doing business atmosphere made it easy for us as Indian investors. In fact, as only slight differences exist between the Indian and Sri Lankan people, the cultural affinities are also closer, making us feel as if it was a second home to us. These factors led us to choose Sri Lanka as our maiden overseas investment destination. Why did you decide to go with such a challenging design? A successful builder is always hungry to take on new challenges – eager to create new benchmarks and something new and iconic for the next generation of developers to see, for them to be challenged. It is this mindset that drove us to Altair’s famed leaning structure. In Altair, we wanted to create an iconic building, opposite the Beira Lake facing the Indian Ocean, which in time to come will be a symbol for the city of Colombo, in league with Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, Kuala Lumpur’s Petronas Tower, the Taipei 1 in Taipei, and the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. Altair has to be an opening for high-net-worth real estate investors and premium penthouse residents who go for the best. With this line of thought in our mind, we commissioned celebrity architect Moshe Safdie for Altair. In that, we created this challenge for ourselves, like a golfer who is always playing against his own skills. Two of us, Pradip Sureka and myself, are both avid golfers and we created the Altair challenge for ourselves. What were your memories and first impressions of Altair’s design when first presented to you? Safdie came up with a very interesting concept, but one that is equally challenging to execute. The project in two words: Challenging and frightening. The “Diagrid-structured” framework, elevation of one straight tower, and another stepped tower that opens to sky balconies, giving residents maximum open space with a front seat view of the Beira Lake, while the upper levels feature unhindered vistas of the blue tint of the Indian Ocean – we took this challenge head-on, started the construction, and hired the best team for architecture, structural design, and engineering. I remember those days when we used to come down to Colombo almost every second week during the starting phase of the project. It was really a challenging time as most material had to be imported, and even the contractors with workers of international-standard skill had to be flown down. The announcement of “Altair by Safdie”, thereafter, created a huge buzz and resulted in a much-needed mojo for other high-rise projects in Colombo, such as Shangri-La, ITC Sapphire, Colombo City Centre, etc. that were announced one by one later on. To what extent have your project pre-construction ideas become a reality? We created a virtual 3D walk-through of the project before its start, and that initial expectation was fulfilled exactly when I physically visited the completed site on 24 October – after one-and-a-half years of Covid-19 delays and travel restrictions. I arrived in Colombo from the airport and headed straight to the Altair towers. I toured the Altair lobby, many apartments, and finally the 63rd floor. The infinity pool, poolside, and the apartments on the 67th floor were fresh and in mint condition. I must say, it was one of the best and proudest moments for me and my team seeing the Altair towers physically standing on Colombo soil as exactly as we originally envisioned it. If we compare the 3D virtual walk-through and the real project, there is hardly any difference. What were the lessons learnt and what do you envision for Colombo’s future skyline? As a developer, I learnt that each project comes with its own challenges and creates new capacities for the developer, making them more and more specialised to take up specific challenges for unique situations. Projects such as Altair also bestow new capabilities for the destination market, i.e. the suppliers, contractors, and subcontractors, get to be “upgraded”. The expertise is in fact being created in the process of project execution while staying part of the larger construction ecosystem. The completion catalysed new investors’ arrivals to Sri Lankan real estate sector. I am very happy that it is Altair Colombo that became the catalyst that succeeded in turning the newest chapter in Sri Lanka’s history of premium urban real estate and high-rise development.


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