Government throws cold water on Dhammika Perera’s Queensbury project
Sri Lanka government has thrown cold water on the US$200 million mixed development Queensbury Leisure Ltd project of billionaire business tycoon and local casino owner Dhammika Perera.
The project was for an integrated super luxury tourist resort, which consists of 500 rooms including high end shopping malls, high quality residencies and office spaces/service spaces with associated facilities at D. R. Wijewardena Mawatha, Colombo 10.
Development Strategies and International Trade Minister Malik Samarawickrema has issued a gazette notification in mid June 2017 cancelling the project as it has failed to start operations within 48 months after signing the relevant agreement with the Board of Investment (BOI), BOI sources said.
In a special gazette notification, Minister Samarawickrema has declared that the Gazette extraordinary of 31-01 -2014 which accorded the strategic enterprise status to the project following Parliamentary approval in January 24, 2014 is now rescinded.
According to the now rescinded gazette, the Foreign Direct Investment of the project was $200 million which should be made within 36 months from the date of the project agreement signed between the BOI and the project company. Even after 48 months, the project has not got off the ground, a senior BOI official said.
Sweeping tax concessions including 10-year income tax breaks and import duty concessions were given to these projects and given Strategic Development Project status. However Waterfront Properties (Private) Limited of John Keells Holdings – also given similar status – is carrying out construction work of their mixed development project, he added.
The other project with similar status was Rank Holdings, local partners of the $350 million James Packer venture, which also didn’t get going. Now Asia Capital and Belluna, a Japanese firm, is investing $350 to 450 million for on a mixed development project and offered the same site opposite Lake House which has been obtained from the Urban Development Authority for approximately Rs.4 billion, he disclosed.