Qatar interested in host of investments

Qatar Holdings, the investment arm of the Qatar Investment Authority of the Government of Qatar (which is Qatar's sovereign wealth fund) together with Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company, their real estate arm, are interested in a host of investments ranging from building villas in Kalpitiya, real estate development, to horticulture and highways, according to officials.

"They are also interested in the Colombo Commercial Property (CCP) at Sir James Peiris Mawatha, and a host of sites in the South for hotel projects,” according to the official. This also includes building five hotels.“They are especially interested in securing in the Kalpitiya Tourism Zone (KTZ) some large islands. They want to build five resorts in the North-West and the East coasts," an External Affairs Ministry official told the Sunday Times. He said that the preparatory team ahead of Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, Emir of Qatar’s visit last Sunday, had visited Kalpitiya, and also inspected lands in Colombo for real estate development and a mega mall complex.

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(Source: Sunday Times)

Foundation stone for Colombo Lotus Tower laid

The tower will be constructed at the Beire Lake waterfront and alongside a part of D R Wijewardene Mawatha. The 350 meters tall Tower is being built under the auspices of the Telecommunication Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) on a plot of land covering 3.06 hectares.

When this is completed it will be a striking city symbol and an important landmark by becoming the tallest Tower in South Asia. This is a free standing tower with a four-storey high podium; a concrete tower shaft of moderate diameter; eight storied tower head; and a steel framed antennae mast surmounted at the top.

The Tower will provide for telecommunication and leisure activities, and will facilitate the relaying of at least 50 separate broadcasting and telecasting services, provide facilities for about 20 service providers in telecommunication relay defence signals and indirectly contribute to the removal of high powered TV and FM antennas placed on top of various buildings in the Colombo city.

The tower podium will also house a telecommunication museum, food courts, administrative offices exhibition spaces and corresponding amenities and tower shaft will be a hollow concrete cylinder accommodating high-speed lifts and stairs for vertical circulations and ducts for various type of building services.

The tower head will comprise eight floor levels accommodating an Observation Deck, Revolving Restaurant, and Banquet Hall for 1000 guests as well as two floors of super luxury hotel accommodation.

The total estimated cost of the project is USD 104.3 million.

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(Source: defence.lk)

SLT says shortage of tourist rooms

Sri Lanka Tourism is currently facing a crisis due to the dearth of rooms to accommodate foreign tourists visiting the country, Deputy Tourism Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena said. With rooms being targeted for construction to meet the growing demand of increased tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka, it was pointed out at a media briefing held in Colombo on Tuesday on the topic of “Sancharaka Udawa” that the industry was fighting hard to provide adequate accommodation for visitors, the deputy minister said. More >> (Source: Sunday Times)

50% of Colombo condos sell out pre-construction : report

Most condominiums (considered luxury real estate) in the country's business capital of Colombo experience an average pre-construction sale ratio of around 50%, according to a report by the local office of global big four audit firm KPMG, in conjunction with Research Intelligence Unit (RIU).

The report titled 'Sri Lanka Real Estate Market Brief', said that "more prestigious developments like the Empire, Emperor, Lumiere and Trillium tend to sell around 80% of their units by completion of construction. Meanwhile, the established buildings like Royal Park and Iceland Residencies have very few apartments available for sale or re-sale."

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(Source: Sunday Times)

SOUTH AFRICA’S SUN CITY TO INVEST $800M IN SRI LANKA TOURISM

South Africa’s Sun City resort will invest $800 million in a tourism project in Sri Lanka, the head of the island nation’s state-run Tourism Board said on Friday.

Sun City resort is run by South African gaming and hotels group Sun International Ltd.

It will be the largest ever investment in the country’s leisure sector, which is booming since the end of a 25-year war.

“Sun City of South Africa is now going to make an $800 million investment in a 200-acre private property,” Nalaka Godahewa, head of the Tourism Board told Reuters in an interview.

The investment will be made on Sri Lanka’s hotel city in Katana, a coastal town located 15 km north of Colombo, he said

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(Source: Ada Derana)

Sri Lanka Repeals 100% Land Tax on Foreigners

The Sri Lankan government is scrapping the 100 percent tax levied on foreigners buying land in that country in favor of a new special land tax to be unveiled in the 2012 budget.

The new tax will remove restrictions on foreigners buying and developing land anywhere in the country, and will also close loopholes which have allowed many foreigners to buy land in Sri Lanka tax free. It is also thought that removing the tax will increase tourism and property sales to foreigners. The overall aim of the decision is to increase the revenues coming into government coffers from the sale of land to foreigners, sources from the Finance Ministry told reporters.

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(Source: The Epoch Times)

Sheraton to build hotel in Sri Lanka's capital Colombo

Sheraton Hotels and Resorts, the largest Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide brand, will build a hotel in the Sri Lankan capital on land originally offered to a Chinese firm, a government official said on Sunday.

The island nation's junior economic minister said the government has completed negotiations with Sheraton to allocate the land, earlier offered to China National Aero Technology Import and Export Corporation (CATIC).

Last month, Sri Lanka annulled a $500 million investment deal with CATIC after it refused to sell the beach front land outright to the state-run Chinese conglomerate as agreed earlier.


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(Source: Daily Mirror)