• Phase 1 to be completed by March 2024
• Softlogic Chair confirms ongoing construction
• Targets developing complex as premier fine dining, fashion outlet
• New outlets expected to be opened in next few days

Phase one of the Colombo Arcade Independence Square shopping complex development project will be completed by March 2024, according to Softlogic.

Speaking to The Sunday Morning Business, Softlogic Group founding member and Chairman/Managing Director Ashok Pathirage revealed that construction had already commenced under phase one of the Colombo Arcade Independence Square shopping complex development project, with completion being anticipated by March 2024.

“We are working on the project in phases. Many things are happening; you will see soon enough,” he said. 

He noted that the plan was to develop the Colombo Arcade Independence Square shopping complex into a premier fine dining and fashion outlet.

Pathirage further revealed that several new outlets would be opened at the shopping complex over the next few days under phase one of the development project. 

In March 2021, it was announced that the Urban Development Authority (UDA) had entered into a 10-year lease agreement with the Softlogic Group to upgrade the Colombo Arcade shopping complex premises under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) and introduce a number of new features to provide a better quality service to the public.

However, UDA sources revealed to The Sunday Morning Business that the UDA would play no role in the development of the shopping complex and that it would be the sole responsibility of the Softlogic Group, which had been given the management of the property.

Speaking in Parliament following the leasing of Colombo Arcade in March 2021, former State Minister of Urban Development, Coast Conservation, Waste Disposal, and Public Sanitation Dr. Nalaka Godahewa revealed that the lease agreement had been entered into with Odel PLC, a subsidiary of Softlogic Group. 

He further disclosed that according to the lease agreement, Odel PLC had agreed to pay Rs. 10 million monthly and Rs. 120 million as total tax at the time of signing the agreement. “In addition, another Rs. 240 million has been paid as a security deposit,” he said.