World Trade Center Colombo

Technopedia Center

Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science
S1 Informatics S1 Information Systems S1 Information Technology S1 Computer Engineering S1 Electrical Engineering S1 Civil Engineering

faculty of Economics and Business
S1 Management S1 Accountancy

Faculty of Letters and Educational Sciences
S1 English literature S1 English language education S1 Mathematics education S1 Sports Education

World Trade Center Colombo - Wikipedia

Coordinates: 06°55′57″N 79°50′38″E / 6.93250°N 79.84389°E

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

World Trade Center
ලෝක වෙළෙඳ මධ්‍යස්ථානය உலக வர்த்தக மையம்

Location in central Colombo
General information
Location	Colombo, Sri Lanka
Coordinates	06°55′57″N 79°50′38″E / 6.93250°N 79.84389°E / 6.93250; 79.84389
Construction started	September 1992
Completed	1996; 28 years ago (1996)
Opening	12 October 1997
Cost	US$ 130 million (1996)
Owner	Overseas Realty Ceylon PLC
Management	Overseas Realty Ceylon PLC
Height
Roof	152 m (499 ft)
Technical details
Floor count	43
Floor area	70,000 m² (750,000 sq ft)
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Anthony NG Architects
Developer	Overseas Realty Ceylon PLC
Main contractor	Turner Steiner East Asia Ltd
Website
wtc.lk

The World Trade Center (also known as WTC Colombo or WTCC) (Sinhala: ලෝක වෙළෙඳ මධ්‍යස්ථානය, romanized: Lōka Veḷen̆da Madhyasthānaya; Tamil: உலக வர்த்தக மையம், romanized: Ulaka Varttaka Maiyam) is a 152-metre-tall (499 ft) twin building in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The 39-storey towers are built over a 4-storey retail podium, and thus each tower has a total floor count of 43. WTCC is owned and managed by Overseas Realty Ceylon PLC (ORCPLC).^[1]^[2]

History

The WTCC was the vision of Singaporean, Shing Pee Tao, the founder of Shing Kwan Group, a commodities, shipping and real estate company. Tao acquired ORCPLC, a listed company on the Colombo Stock Exchange, which owned the undeveloped site at Echelon Square, Colombo. Formal planning approval was granted in January 1992 and groundbreaking took place in September.^[3]^[4]

The building was constructed using pre-fabricated pre-cast concrete panels for the outer walls, columns and beam structures. The panels were bolted to each other and to the concrete floor to become poise facade of the building. Loads were also designed to be carried by a column-beam structure and the core walls were the lifts, toilets and fire staircase located in the centre of the building.

The building which was under construction, was damaged in January 1996 as a result of LTTE suicide attack on the Central Bank, which killed 91 people and injured over 1,400.^[5]^[6]

The WTCC was officially opened on 12 October 1997 by President Chandrika Kumaratunga. On Wednesday, 15 October (three days after the opening), the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) detonated a truck laden with explosives in the adjoining hotel car park, causing significant damage to the side of the western tower. The structure however remained intact due to its construction using cellate high-strength precast panels. The attack was modelled on the 1993 World Trade Center bombing in New York.^[7] The WTCC was specifically targeted by the LTTE as it was the country's tallest building and the symbolic centre of its economy. A full restoration of the building was completed in approximately six months and the building was re-commissioned in June 1998.^[4]

Current tenants include the Colombo Stock Exchange, Securities Exchange Commission, Asian Broadcasting Corporation (Hiru TV and various radio stations including GOLD FM) and the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka.

References

^ "World Trade Center". ORCL.lk. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
^ "World Trade Center". Emporis. Archived from the original on 2 April 2018. Retrieved 8 June 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
^ "Fascinating insights on S.P.Tao's entry to SL". The Island. 20 October 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
^ ^a ^b "World Trade Centre turns 15". Daily FT. 22 October 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
^ Chalk, Peter (2013). Encyclopedia of Terrorism: Volume 1. ABC-CLIO. p. 168-169. ISBN 9780313308956.
^ Cooper, Kenneth J. (1 February 1996). "Bomb kills 60 in Sri Lanka's Capital". The Washington Post. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
^ Smith, Paul J. (2015). The Terrorism Ahead: Confronting Transnational Violence in the Twenty-First Century. Routledge. p. 17. ISBN 9781317454281.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to World Trade Center (Colombo).

Official website

v t e Buildings and Structure in Fort (Colombo)
Government buildings	Central Telegraph Office fmr General Post Office General Treasury Building fmr Parliament Building President's House Republic Building SLNS Parakrama
Commercial/Office buildings	Bank of Ceylon Cargills Central Bank of Sri Lanka Central Point Building (Economic History Museum of Sri Lanka) Gaffoor Building Lloyd's Building Old Colombo Dutch Hospital World Trade Center
Hotels	Hilton Colombo Galadari Hotel Grand Oriental Hotel The Kingsbury
Religious buildings	Sambodhi Chaithya St. Peter's Church
Landmarks	Colombo Fort Clock Tower Colombo Lighthouse Colombo Port Maritime Museum
Parks/Spaces	Gordon Gardens

Tallest structures in Sri Lanka

Buildings
(≥100 m)

Completed

Under construction

The One (95)
Achilleion (50)
Grand Hyatt Colombo (47)

Other structures
(≥90 metres)

*Only the tallest is listed for complexes/projects with multiple buildings or structures.

Categories:

Hidden categories:

History

See also

References

External links