Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT), the national telecommunication service provider and the Urban Development Authority of Sri Lanka (UDA) signed an agreement recently, to undertake to build ICT infrastructure for seven new condominiums to be constructed in urban areas. Under the agreement, SLT will be the Exclusive Telecommunication Service Provider for these housing projects.

There is a huge demand for housing in urban areas amongst the middle and high income groups. However there is currently lack of housing due to various issues including the lack of sufficient space in urban areas. To address this issue, the government has decided to provide 500,000 housing units to middle income groups within the next 5 years. In line with this, the UDA has initiated a special project to construct housing schemes for government sector employees as well as middle and high income groups. The project comprises of seven housing projects, with condominiums being constructed in different locations in Colombo City including 608 units in Borella for government servants, 500 units in Pannipitiya for professionals and also 300 units in Kottawa, 400 in Borella Elliot Place, two schemes in Thalawathugoda comprising of 400 and 150 units as well as 120 in Kandy Gatambe Place for middle income categories.

Speaking on behalf of the UDA, with regards to this partnership, Mr. Jagath Nandana Munasinghe, Chairman of UDA said, “We have embarked on this landmark agreement with SLT after much thought and consideration. Being the national telecommunication service provider in the country, we have first-hand experience with SLT’s level of expertise and high level of service excellence in the past. Therefore, we are confident of the company’s credibility and ability to provide high quality services that will cater to the high ICT requirements expected for these housing projects that will also far exceed the expectations of the prospective residents of these condominiums.”

Giving his comments on the agreement and what it entails for the community, Mr. P.G. Kumarasinghe Sirisena, Chairman of SLT said, “This is a great opportunity for SLT to serve the people in our community once more by constructing and maintaining the ICT Infrastructure for this large project. As the exclusive telecommunication service provider, we will be providing total ICT services including fixed line, broadband, PEO TV, CCTV as well as other smart building solutions for all the projects including the common areas of the condominiums. This also includes providing ICT solutions to all the tenants of the seven condominiums as well as to the building management. We are excited about this venture and look forward to providing SLT’s unmatched solutions to ensure the highest experience to the residents.” The company will be providing services via both fibre connectivity as well as copper lines.

Principal signatories present at the agreement signing ceremony included from the UDA side, Mr. Jagath Nandana Munasinghe, Chairman of UDA and Mr. S.S.P. Rathnayake, Director General of UDA. From SLT’s side, Mr. P.G. Kumarasinghe Sirisena, Chairman of SLT and Mr. Kiththi Perera, Chief Commercial Officer of SLT were also present.