GOVT. PLANNING LAND RECLAMATION FROM GALLE FACE-WELLAWATTE

A feasibility report is being conducted for land reclamation by way of extending the coastline from Galle Face to Wellawatte by 300-400 acres, Deputy Minister of Ports and HighwaysRohitha Abeygunawardena today revealed in parliament.

 In a document submitted to parliament the Deputy Minister revealed that this will be done as a part of restructuring the commercial hub of Sri Lanka. The Government is looking at how to alleviate the inconveniences caused by ill-planned roads and badly constructed building in Colombo.

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(Source: Ada Derana)

Govt. says many offers to manage Hilton Hotel

The Government has been inundated by offers from top international chains to manage the Hilton Hotel in Colombo following the announcement last Wednesday that the property is now solely Sri Lankan owned. A Finance Ministry source said that the hotel is seen as a good, exclusive property in post-war Sri Lanka where tourism is growing fast.
“Many top chains have expressed interest,” the source said. Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa announced in Parliament that the land had been taken over due to failure by Cornel & Co., which leased the land from the Urban Development Authority (UDA) and sub-let it to Hotel Developers Lanka Ltd (HDL), to pay lease rental.

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(Source: Sunday Times)

Chinese aircraft firm also gets Galle Face land

Gotabaya says billions from three hotel developers will be used for security forces headquarters

A Chinese aircraft manufacturing company will be the second of three successful bidders for star class hotels to be built on the area around the Galle Face Green to be vacated by the Ministry of Defence and Army Headquarters, Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa told the Sunday Times. This follows the sale of a six-acre property to build a multifunction complex comprising a classy hotel and a shopping mall, adjoining another six-acre property where the Shangri-La hotel chain is putting up a hotel complex. Mr. Rajapaksa said the money raised from the sale of these properties would go largely to fund the construction of a state-of-the-art headquarters for the three military services, the Army, the Navy and the Air Force and the Ministry of Defence at Mattegoda. More>> (Source: Sunday Times)

Mega hotel on Cargills property?

CT Holding PLC, which controls retail giant Cargills, is raising a total of Rs 2.6 billion through a private placement and a rights issue with part of these funds going into a mega development in the Cargills property in Fort which would include an exclusive, upmarket hotel, market sources said.
Cargills officials including its Deputy Chairman Ranjit Page were not immediately available for comment but the sources said the funds from this capital infusion would be used for a development project at Cargills in Fort that would change the character of the area into a ‘touristic walkabout’.

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(Source: Sunday Times)

LankaPropertyWeb house price index updated

LankaPropertyWeb.com, Sri Lanka's leading property portal has updated it's housing price index with the latest property prices for the month of January.

The house price index can be viewed here

(Source: LankaPropertyWeb.com) 

New land powers for Def. Min.

Statutory body must approve any filling or development in Western Province

Developing or filling land in the districts of Colombo, Kalutara and Gampaha will henceforth require approval from a statutory body coming under the Ministry of Defence. New regulations to compel landowners to obtain the approval of the Sri Lanka Land Reclamation and Development Corporation (SLRDC) were gazetted last week. President Mahinda Rajapaksa, in his capacity as Minister of Defence, promulgated them. They have come in the form of a “Correction Paper” to regulations gazetted earlier by Dinesh Gunawardena, Minister of Urban Development and Sacred Areas Development. More >> (Source: Sunday Times)

Another big hotel project in Colombo

The government is to launch another hotel project in Colombo Fort, taking over the former Dutch Hospital (Transworks Building) opposite the one time Central Telegraph Office, a senior official of the Urban Development Authority said.
The adjoining car park and a land bordering Chatham Street and Hospital Street in Fort have also been identified for a tourist entertainment venue as part of the project, the official said.
“The former Dutch Hospital will be turned into a hotel in a manner that the ancient structure remains and the archeological value is preserved,” he said without disclosing details about the investors of the project.

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(Source: Sunday Times)