Monday 20 December 2010

Shangri-La leisure project kicks off in 2011

Asia’s famous Shangri-La Hotels group has finalized its Colombo leisure project with an investment of $500 million, Finance Ministry sources said. The Memorandum of Understanding has been signed with the Sri Lankan government and construction work will begin early next year at the 6-acre army grounds opposite the Galle Face Green in Colombo.

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(Source: Sunday Times)

D.R. Wijewardena Mw to be Colombo’s leisure hub

While the Urban Development Authority (UDA) has plans to sell its former head office at D.R. Wijewardena Mawatha Colombo 10, properties along that road are being hunted by prospective investors, following a proposal by the UDA to zone this area for leisure and entertainment projects.

“We’ll be advertising our former UDA head office at D.R. Wijewardena Mawatha which has five acres by next year for development,” Nihal Fernando, Director General UDA told the Business Times.
He added that 2011 will also see many such UDA-owned lands in the market. “Whatever we want to develop will be advertised,” he added. Aitken Spence Hotels PLC is eyeing the state-owned boat builder, Ceynor Foundation complex also in D.R. Wijewardena Mawatha for a 15-floor hotel project, according to company sources.

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 (Source: Sunday Times)
 

Monday 6 December 2010

Sri Lanka property project resumed by Shing Kwan

The Singapore-based Shing Kwan group has re-activated its big Havelock City residential and commercial property project in Sri Lanka with plans to build 800 more apartments, its chairman S P Tao said.


"This country is going to get better, and better and better," Tao said at the formal launch of the remaining phases of the 350 million US dollar project in the heart of the capital Colombo.

Construction work has begun on the second phase of the project, being done by the Colombo-listed Overseas Realty (Ceylon), in which Shing Kwan has a majority stake, the balance being held by state-owned Bank of Ceylon.

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(Source: LBO)

Sri Lanka JKH plans new property venture

Sri Lanka's John Keells Holdings is planning a 6.5 billion rupee condominium project in Colombo's Union Place which will be built by a newly incorporated company in the group, top officials said.
"We are looking at a condominium in Union Place," deputy chairman Ajit Gunewardene said. "It is certainly something we are working on."

The project will be on group property in Union Place where the head office of Singer Sri Lanka are located.

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(Source: LBO)

Fresh bids called for CCC property

The Government has called fresh bids to close the deal on the controversial sale of the Colombo Commercial Company (CCC) property facing the Beira Lake, with a decision on the highest bidder to be made by the Urban Development Authority (UDA) which comes under the Defence Ministry.

The Finance Ministry was also involved (along with the UDA) in the evaluation process but not anymore. These bids received from several local and foreign investors are now being evaluated, a high ranking government official said. No decision has been taken so far to sell the property to any of these big conglomerates, he said.

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(Source: Sunday Times)

Aitken Spence, JKH, Cargills interested in GOH

John Keells Holdings, Aitken Spence and Cargills Ceylon are among local and foreign firms that have expressed interest following a public advertisement inviting a management partner for the Bank of Ceylon-owned Grand Oriental Hotel (GOH), according to hotel industry sources.

A source close to GOH told the Business Times that Singapore’s Raffles, four Indian hotel chains, Midddle East investors and European ones have also sent their Expressions of Interests (EOIs) to the Bank of Ceylon (BOC).

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(Source: Sunday Times)

Softlogic Group to buy Hotel Ceysands

Softlogic Holdings Ltd has been allowed to purchase the disputed Hotel Ceysands at Bentota at a price of Rs.925 million, according to a directive issued by the Supreme Court on Friday.

The 3-member Court bench headed by Justice Shirani Tilakawardane directed the Chartered Accountants committee appointed to devise a repayment plan and to asses and value Golden Key Credit Card Company (GKCC) properties, to accept the offer made by Softlogic, when the GKCC case was taken up for hearing.

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(Source: Sunday Times)