SLT to save Rs.300-400mn per year with relocation of Mobitel offices to new HQ

Mobitel operational offices are scheduled to move into a new state-of the art operational headquarters located in Welikada in May by bringing an estimated savings of Rs.300-400 million per annum on rent for Sri Lanka Telecom PLC (SLT).

“The construction of our nine-storied SLT-Mobitel headquarters building in Welikada phase 1 was completed within one year, and was made ready for occupancy. Mobitel operational offices are scheduled to move into the new building, enabling the company to save an estimated Rs. 300-400 million per annum on rent,” SLT Group Chairman Rohan Fernando announced.

The Welikada operational headquarters is being constructed at a cost of approximately Rs.2.5 billion. It is set to become one of the most modern, green buildings in Sri Lanka, powered by renewable energy and water saving through rainwater harvesting. 

Under phase one, up to five floors are expected to be functional by May 2023, and the entire building (up to the 9th floor) planned to be functional by the end of 2025.

Upon completion, the building is expected to be recognised as the company’s first building to receive the green rating of “Platinum” provided by the Green Building Council of Sri Lanka.

Fernando noted that Mobitel would have exhausted Rs.3.5 billion on rent for relevant premises including Rotunda Tower occupation for ten years, starting from 2019, if SLT hadn’t taken this initiative forward.

The master plan for the proposed development of the 7-acre land has been prepared and approved by the Urban Development Authority (UDA). The development of the land has commenced with the construction of the new nine-storied building, which has only utilised about 2 percent of the underutilised space of the land. The remaining space is reserved for future developments as planned in the master plan.

Under the unified brand identity of SLT-Mobitel, SLT Group expects to generate substantial cost savings in the future. 

“Some of our operations were unified in 2022, especially in areas where there was duplication of work by subsidiary entities. The groundwork laid out in 2022 is now in the launch phase which would generate substantial cost savings in the future. 

In the initial phase, the operational offices and teleshops in some areas were brought under one roof, serving as an example of success in unified operations. We are now ready to expand this programme to major cities,” Fernando noted..