Sanken constructs for leisure, more hotels in the pipeline
View(s):Sanken Lanka, the construction firm, has taken a bold initiative to move into the leisure sector by now owning at least two hotels with plans to open up two more in Sri Lanka, one in the Maldives and another in Seychelles. Plans are underway to construct one hotel on the South West coastal belt and another in the Central Region for a three to four star property. At present Sanken is also the owner of Amaya Langdale,company officials said . The company is looking at moving into Seychelles for a similar operation to that of the Maldives however, no details were announced at this stage.
Sanken Overseas which is an arm of the main Sanken Lanka group is currently involved in a number of projects in the African continent in countries like Kenya and Uganda and Myanmar, Qatar and the Maldives. As part of these operations they had already gained ownership of one hotel in the Maldives in a management partnership with the Onyx Group Amari brand that opened recently. Commenting on their move into the Maldives it was noted that this was due to the fact that at the moment the Return on Investment was high there.
Comparatively Sri Lanka is best a real estate market as opposed to the leisure sector, however, the company which is already heavily into the real estate sector is looking at venturing into the hotel construction and ownership as well. Sanken had moved into the leisure sector some time back due to the downturn in the construction industry when the country was in conflict due to the war. Moreover, it was pointed out that any construction firm would at some stage expand into other sectors when there is no longer any room to play a role of a contractor.
In the Maldives the firm is eyeing another resort with 280 rooms and in this respect they were in discussion with the government to get a head lease for a suitable island, officials said. The company noted that Sanken built hotels would stand out from the rest since they were mostly about engineering as opposed to simply architecture with a nature friendly product. Sanken promotes the use of Sri Lankan labour in these projects from the labourers to the engineers that would afford people to get international exposure and generate increased foreign exchange. Financing is also carried out by the Sri Lankan banks
Another hotel on Male is planned with Ozo for an 88 room business hotel for which land has already been identified, it was noted. Officials at Sanken explained that constructing a hotel by one partner of the property and managing it by another partner was a model adopted in other countries as well unlike how it was carried out in Sri Lanka. Commenting on the market it was noted that there needs to be a more open market and a level playing field so both parties with FIT and group travellers could benefit, officials said adding that otherwise Sri Lanka will be looked at as a backpackers destiation. (SD)