Want to film or take professional pics at Port City? Make a payment to bank of China

Port City Colombo, which recently opened its public gallery to visitors, yesterday said that it had been forced to introduce payment methods for those willing to shoot professional pictures and videos on the Port City premises due to a rising number of requests from social media users and companies who wished to make an income from filming on the premises, the Daily Mirror learns. 

A payment sheet introduced by Port City Colombo was highly shared on social media yesterday, which stated that if people wished to take professional pictures and videos for personal use, a payment ranging between Rs.30,000 to Rs.50,000 would have to be made. 

According to the payment sheet for 'personal', if the shoot involved 2 to 5 people for one to three hours, a sum of Rs.30,000 would be charged and if there were 6 to 10 people, for the same duration of time then the sum would be Rs.50,000.
If there were more than 10 people involved in the project for the same period of time, then the payment was listed as 'variable'.
For commercial purposes, if there are less than 10 people involved in the photo or video shoot for the same duration of time, a sum of Rs.100,000 would be charged. And if there are more than 10 people for the same time period, the sum charged was listed as 'variable'.

Head of PR at CHEC Port City Colombo Pvt. Limited, Kassapa Senarath confirmed to Daily Mirror the authenticity of the payment schedule and said this however did not apply to those who wished to take selfies, pose for pics or video at the public viewing area when they visit the gallery. 

He said when the public gallery of the Port City Colombo initially opened its doors recently, there were many social media users, musicians and even companies who visited the premises bringing in professional camera equipment to shoot for their products and videos. Some social media users had also come under the pretext of it being a promotion for the newly opened Port City premises.
However Kassapa clarified that this was a hindrance to the workers on site as the Port City was still a construction site and the safety of the people had to be maintained while all health guidelines also had to be strictly followed. 

"Some people even came with heavy equipment which is why we then decided that if anyone needs to use the premises for their professional work and earn an income, then a fee will be charged. It is not done to earn any profit but done to maintain the protocols and health guidelines as the Port City is still a construction site. It is a general pricing structure," Kassapa said.

The payment chart shared on social media received flak from the public and some even criticized as to why the payment had to be made to the Bank of China. 

Kassapa said this was because the Port City maintained an account with the local branch of the Bank of China.(JAMILA HUSAIN)