The Sri Lankan government has approved Crown Limited’s US$350 million resort casino planned for the capital of Colombo.
The approval comes after the project hit a reported snag last week over its height. The Australian casino giant was said to be “highly perturbed” by the government’s request that the 400-room hotel be lowered from the 36 floors Crown had designed. The request is believed to have originated with powerful Defense Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the president’s brother, who does not want the hotel to block the public’s view of nearby Beira Lake.
Local new reports quoting Investment Promotion Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena now say Crown has reconsidered the design around a compromise plan to build two smaller hotel towers.
Officials had offered to make land available in another location from the one Crown has selected near Colombo Fort. But this would have posed another set of problems because Crown’s joint venture partner, local casino operator Ravi Wijeratne, has already paid a significant portion of the cost to lease the Colombo Fort site.
