Financial Times

Doubts delay Spence hotel investment
Aitken Spence and Co. has still not decided to go ahead with developing its property on the east coast owing to the prevailing uncertainty about the outcome of the peace process, a senior company official said.

The conglomerate, the island's largest hotel operator that also controls five percent of the bed strength in the Maldives, has a 100-acre site at Nilaveli, a prime tourist destination.

The tourist industry has begun to boom again following the peace talks and the government is expecting a record number of visitors this year with indications of a good winter season.

But Aitken Spence's long-standing plans to develop the Nilaveli property are still on hold because the company is reluctant to investment money in a region that could be affected if the war resumes.

"We are very interested in developing our east coast property and there is a lot of interest from a foreign partner but because of the uncertainty we have decided not to put money in yet," the official said.

The company is also looking to invest in a resort in South India with the aim of selling two-stop or three-stop holidays that takes visitors to India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

Aitken Spence had been waiting for international airline connections to be established with South Indian destinations. SriLankan Airlines recently started flying to South Indian destinations.

The conglomerate has also given up plans to get into ship chartering after talks with a foreign partner fell through and expectations of a good market proved too optimistic, the official said.

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