Colombo Lotus Tower

The Lotus Tower (Sinhala: නෙළුම් කුළුණ, romanized: Nelum Kuluna; Tamil: தாமரைக் கோபுரம், romanized: Tāmaraik Kōpuram), also known as the Colombo Lotus Tower, stands at a height of 351.5 meters (1,153 feet) in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It has become a symbolic landmark for the country. As of 2019, the tower is the tallest self-supported structure in South Asia and the second tallest overall, behind the guy-wire-supported INS Kattabomman antenna tower in India. It ranks as the 11th tallest tower in Asia and the 19th tallest tower in the world. Initially, the tower was proposed to be built in Peliyagoda, but the Government of Sri Lanka later decided to change the location. The lotus-shaped structure serves various purposes, including communication and observation, as well as leisure facilities. The estimated cost of construction was approximately US$113 million.

Location

Colombo 01, near Beira Lake. After an initial decision to construct the tower within the confines of a suburb of the country's economic capital city of Colombo, Sri Lanka's government announced their plans to shift the location to the heart of the city. Therefore, the tower's location is on the waterfront of the Beira Lake.

Construction

With the witness of the President of Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL), the Secretary of the Sri Lanka Foreign Ministry, the Presidents of China National Electronics Import & Export Corporation (CEIEC) and Aerospace Long March International Trade Co. Ltd (ALIT) signed the contract with the Director-General of TRCSL, Anusha Palpita, for the project on 3 January 2012.

This project coordinate by Sri Lankan government the construction began on 20 January 2012 following a foundation stone-laying ceremony. The site is located on the waterfront of Beira Lake and alongside a part of the D. R. Wijewardene Mawatha.

In December 2014, the tower's construction crossed the milestone and in July 2015, the tower reached .

Design and function

The design of this building is inspired by the Lotus flower. The lotus symbolizes purity within Sri Lankan culture and is also said to symbolize the country's flourishing development. The tower base is inspired by the lotus throne and will also be formed by two inverted trapezoids. The tower's color can be changed by RGB lights.

The tower is tall and covers of floor area.

The Lotus Tower's main revenue sources are tourism and antenna leasing. It functions as a radio and television broadcasting antenna ISDB-T and proposed DVB-T2 support structure for 50 television services, 35 FM radio stations and 20 telecommunication service providers, and will house a variety of tourist attractions .

The tower has four entrances, with two being used as VIP (distinguished guests and state leaders) entrances. A telecommunications museum and restaurant are located on the ground floor. The tower podium consists of 6 floors. The first floor of the podium accommodates a museum and two exhibition halls. The second floor is utilised for several conference halls with seating space for more than 500 people. Restaurants, supermarkets, and food courts are situated on the third floor. A 1000-seat auditorium is located on the fourth floor, which is also used as a ballroom. The fifth floor includes luxury hotel rooms and large ballrooms, and the seventh floor hosts an observation gallery. The landscaping is planned in the form of a large water park.

Transport hub

The Colombo Monorail, which was a proposed monorail system in Colombo, and the BRT system were to converge at a common 'multi-modal hub' located in close proximity to the Lotus Tower, making the tower a major city center. The Monorail was canceled in 2016, and both, a light rail will be constructed in Malabe.

Controversy

During the opening ceremony, which was held on 16 September 2019, President Maithripala Sirisena at a ceremonial speech mentioned and claimed an allegation on a scam regarding an advance of 2 billion rupees which was given to an approved company ALIT in 2012 by the then government, was later revealed in 2016 that such a company did not exist. However, this was later proven to be false as ALIT was in fact the acronym of the Chinese state-owned Aerospace Long-March International Trade Co. ALIT denied receiving the payment claiming that the entire amount was paid to the China National Electronics Import & Export Corporation (CEIEC) as had ALIT left the project. It also noted that the TRC paid $15.6 million (2 billion rupees) into CEIEC's account in Exim Bank in October 2012, the same amount which Sirisena claims to have been "misappropriated" by ALIT.

Gallery

File:Lotus Tower Floating Market-Colombo Srilanka-Andres Larin.jpg, Lotus Tower from Pettah Floating Market in 2023
File:View of the Colombo City through the Pink-tainted glass from the inside of the Banquet Hall in the Fourth Floor of Colombo Lotus Tower.jpg, View of the Colombo City through the Pink-tinted glass of the Banquet Hall on the Fourth Floor
File:Inside of the Banquet Hall on the Fourth Floor of Colombo Lotus Tower with Pink-tainted glass.jpg, Inside of the Banquet Hall on the Fourth Floor with Pink-tinted glass

See also

* Nelum Pokuna Mahinda Rajapaksa Theatre
*List of tallest structures in Sri Lanka
* Blue Orbit Restaurant (Revolving restaurant)

References

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Communication towers in Sri Lanka
2019 establishments in Sri Lanka
Tourist attractions in Colombo
Towers with revolving restaurants
Towers completed in 2019