John Keells Holdings (JKH) will complete its 36 story, Union Place apartment complex by end 2014, officials said. “We plan to complete construction of ’320′ as it will be called by 2014. It will have 470 apartments,” Ajit Gunewardene, Deputy Chairman, JKH told the Business Times. He said that JKH is currently at the development stage of its 10-acre Glennie Street project where its head office is housed. “We are engaging with designers, potential contractors and the authorities in relation to this project,” he said.
Mr. Gunewardene noted that the business hotel coming up at Greenpath in Colombo is set to enhance its brand portfolio in hotel management. JKH is the largest private land owner in Colombo with 25 acres of free-hold land at prime locations in the city and more than 120 acres (excluding existing hotel lands) outside Colombo. Mr. Gunewardene added that a significant portion of this city land portfolio presents immense potential for value-unlocking and JKH is currently in the planning stage for developing these sites. Leisure arm of JKH mainly consisting of Asian Hotels & Properties (AHPL) and John Keells Hotels (KHL) contributed to about 26 per cent of JKH’s top line and 39 per cent to JKH’s bottom line during the last quarter (ending December 2012) under review.
