Sri Lanka Shangri La Colombo Hotel Construction Begins. 661 Room Hotel to Occupy 10 Acres of Land Facing Galle Face Green Promenade

24th February 2012, www.lankabusinessonline.com

Hong Kong-based leisure group Shangri-La has begun construction work on its first hotel in Sri Lanka which is experiencing a boom in tourism after the end of its 30-year ethnic war.

Basil Rajapaksa, Sri lanka's minister of economic development, broke ground Friday for work on the 661-room Shangri La Colombo hotel.

The hotel is to be built on 10 acres of land facing the Galle Face Green promenade in the capital Colombo.

The land, considered prime commercial property, had previously been occupied by the Sri Lanka army headquarters which was moved to another location in a Colombo suburb.

Shangri Lanka will invest 400 million dollars in the Colombo property.

The group is also building a 315 room 'city resort' in Hambantota in the South of the island on a 145 acre land.

Sri Lanka is experiencing an upsurge in tourist arrivals after its ethnic war ended in 2009.

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• Shangri La Will Position Sri Lanka as a Prime Tourist Destination – Greg Dogan, Shangri La President & CEO

Shangri La Will Position Sri Lanka as a Prime Tourist Destination – Greg Dogan, Shangri La President & CEO

04th January 2011, www.ft.lk

One of the world’s premier hotel companies Shangri La which has committed to build two resorts in Sri Lanka has committed itself to position the country as a prime tourist destination.

“The Sri Lankan government is fully committed to rebuilding the economy following the end of three decades of conflict and we believe that Shangri-La will be able to assist in positioning the country as a prime global tourist destination. Both Shangri-La hotels strategically fit into the group’s ongoing expansion plans to link the Indian subcontinent and our South East Asia developments,” Shangri La International Hotel Management President and CEO Greg Dogan said in a statement.

The Hong-Kong based Shangri-La said it has purchased six acres of Government land facing the Galle Face green promenade, to build a multi-use complex with high end retailing, deluxe apartments and a 500-key luxury hotel to open in early 2014.
The purchase marks the entry of the hotel group into Sri Lanka, often referred to as ‘The Pearl of the Indian Ocean’.

Shangri La is also planning to develop a second property, a 300-key city resort on approximately 100 acres of land in Hambantota, on the southern coast of Sri Lanka to open in 2013.

“Sri Lanka is a country of unsurpassed natural beauty, rich in cultural heritage and above all it is well recognised for its warm and hospitable population,” Dogan added.

Hong Kong-based Shangri-La Asia Limited, one of the world’s premier hotel companies, currently owns and/or manages 70 hotels under the Shangri-La and Traders brands, with a room inventory of over 30,000. Over almost four decades, the group has established its brand hallmark of ‘hospitality from the heart.’ The group has a substantial development pipeline with upcoming projects in Austria, Canada, mainland China, India, Macau, Malaysia, Philippines, Mongolia, Russia, Qatar, Turkey and United Kingdom.

Shangri La entry endorsement of post-war revival – Dr. P B
Treasury Secretary Dr. P.B. Jayasundera has said that the entry of Shangri-La was an endorsement of Sri Lanka’s post-war prospects in addition to heralding a new journey in Foreign Direct Investment.

‘The entry of the Shangri-La global network is an endorsement of the economic prospects that Sri Lanka has gained since the President, Mahinda Rajapaksa ending the long drawn conflict, and accelerating long term infrastructure development, through the creation of a stable economic environment while promoting a rural-centric development strategy,” Dr. Jayasundera said.

“It also marks the beginning of a new journey of a high level of Foreign Direct Investment that Sri Lanka needs in order to accelerate an economic growth in excess of eight percent and position Sri Lanka as an emerging middle income country in Asia’,“ he added.

The Treasury Secretary also confirmed that several of the world’s leading investors have expressed interest to undertake a wide range of investment activities in 2011.

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Shangri La Finalizes Agreement to Construct a Seven Star Hotel in Colombo

28th December 2010, www.island.lk, By Mario Andree

A Hong Kong based hotel chain giant yesterday finalized its agreement with the government to construct a seven star hotel in Colombo.

Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, Chairman, Dr. Nalaka Godehewa told the Island Financial Review an agreement was signed yesterday with Shangri La Hotels to construct a luxury hotel in a 10 acres land in the premises of the Defense Ministry.

The project is worth more than US$ 500 million and is a land mark for Sri Lanka as other major hotel chains would follow the footsteps of this agreement.

Shangri La has also shown a keen interest in developing 150 acres of land in Hambanthota which will help the industry boom, he said.

Meanwhile the 10 islets in the North Western cost which attracted 11 bidders are in the process of being shortlisted and its estimate would be more than US$ 500 million.

Next year has been nominated as ‘Visit Sri Lanka’ year and the SLTDA expects more than 750,000 tourists to visit with the number of arrivals expected to grow at 31 percent average.

Dr. Godehewa said for the next year the SLTDA has planed 12 themes for each month promoting the Whole of Sri Lanka as a tourism attraction.

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