LOLC-owned Riverina Resort opens under prestigious Club Med brand in 2018
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Henri Giscard D’estaing, President and CEO of Club Mediterranee
While tourism is booming in post-war Sri Lanka and big brands are eying the country, Club Med is one of the biggest global brands to get into the resort business here. On Friday, the LOLC Group and Club Mediterranee, France inked an agreement to brand, market and manage the Riverina Resort in Beruwela, heralding the first Club Med Resort in Sri Lanka. The property opens in 2018 under the Club Med brand.
The LOLC Group is a leading diversified conglomerate present in the foremost economic sectors of the country while Club Méditerranée SA, commonly known as Club Med, is a French company specialising in operating Club Resorts at a number of exotic destinations around the world, LOLC officials said.
In a media statement commenting on LOLC’s strategic partnership with Club Med, Ishara Nanayakkara, Deputy Chairman, LOLC, said, “It is my pleasure to welcome Mr. Henri Giscard D’Estaing, the President and CEO of Club Méditerranée, to flag off our flagship venture in Sri Lanka. LOLC’s Riverina Resort in Beruwela will now become Sri Lanka’s first Club Med property. We are overjoyed that a top global brand such as Club Méditerranée, will be collaborating with us, as the brand will enhance the identity of Sri Lanka Tourism by attracting affluent tourists to our shores, while generating valuable employment opportunities within the local community, thereby boosting the local and the national economy”.
Expressing his views on opening the first Club Med in Sri Lanka, Henri Giscard D’estaing, President and CEO of Club Mediterranee, noted, “I am very pleased to be signing the agreement with LOLC Group which will pave the way for establishing the first Club Med in Sri Lanka. Continually in search of new exceptional locations, Club Med is proud to contribute to the wellbeing of Sri Lankan Tourism and to its local economy, attracting a variety of local talent”. The development of a world-class Club Med resort in Sri Lanka will strongly contribute to the tourism success of the country, while contributing to attract affluent tourists from Europe and Asia into the island, and stimulating the local economy to create hundreds of direct and indirect employment opportunities.
The project design team comprises Vinod Jayasinghe Associates (Pvt) Ltd, Project Management Partnership, Q-Serve (Pvt) Ltd, NCD Consultants (Pvt) Ltd., K2 Consultants (Pvt) Ltd, Chandana Dalugoda Consultants and Nimal Perera Associates. The construction team for the project consists of Sierra Construction (Pvt) Ltd, Sintech Engineering (Pvt) Ltd., Ajax Engineers (Pvt) Ltd, Kent Engineers (Pvt) Ltd and Creations Wooden Fabricators (Pvt) Ltd.