IRANAWILA, Chilaw. Some years back a Swedish national, Ingamar Nilsson, was about to start a hotel project in Iranawila, Chilaw with an investment of Rs 50 million and then was on the verge of abandoning it due to the lethargic attitudes of some state agencies.
 Now sanity has prevailed, many issues sorted out at the C & I Beach Hotel had its soft opening on Saturday. Located across the beach in Iranawila, the hotel is a 11-room unit offering 4-star comfort. He said everything that a four star requires is provided for.
Mr Nilsson had been in Sri Lanka for 12 years involved in a Swedish development project in Sri Lanka prior to starting his own hotel project. The hotel project was approved by BOI in 2004 and Tourist Board approval received by 2006. The Tourism Board then asked him to get clearance from the Urban Development Authority, Provincial Environmental Authority (North Western Province) and the Naththandiya Pradeshiya Sabha and all this was done.
He paid an advance of Rs 7 million to the contractor to begin the work and obtained an Advance Payment Bond from the Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation (SLIC). Though the agreed period was extended several times the contracted quantities of work was not completed. So Mr Nilsson wanted the Bond executed for Rs 6 million and submitted his claim on May 31, 2008.
Ingamar Nilsson |
SLIC agreed but delayed the payment. He complained to the Insurance Ombudsman and it directed the SLICL to pay Rs 5 million to Mr Nilsson.
Added to the controversy, after a long time the Coast Conservation Department indicated that their approval was not obtained and thus the building must be demolished. Consequent to his complaints the demolition order was withdrawn but no reasons were given for its initial order.
These matters inconvenienced Mr Nilsson so much that he poured out his concerns in a report in the Sunday FT (now Business Times) on 22 March 2009. His battle was not over yet. He had a problem obtaining his dues through litigation as it would then take another 3 to 4 years. So Mr Nilsson had to concede to a mutual settlement of Rs 5 million and obtained it in October 2009.
Mr Nilsson though succeeding finally says he was very unhappy having had to undergo such a harrowing experience in a country that woos foreign investors.
He says this is the experience most foreign investors face at the hands of lethargic bureaucrats, adding that such attitudes would have a tremendous negative impact in obtaining foreign investment since there are many countries where approvals could be obtained on-line and in hours or days but not in Sri Lanka where it takes years.
He started the hotel project in 2006 and was scheduled to open the hotel in 2008 but due to the delays raw material cost has increased by more than 500 %.
Mr Nilsson said that investors needed reliable information and said that it is a great pity that no or absolutely a few state officials knew English to communicate with and foreign investors have to communicate with more than 20 state agencies under this constraint. Added to this disaster all the documents from these state agencies are in Sinhala only.
Though the BOI is called a one-stop-shop none of this coordination is handled by the agency. The BOI is only interested in collecting its dues, he alleged.
However he complemented the Tourist Board saying it has been very helpful in sorting out matters and no official there requested or sought any ‘Shanthosm’ for their services.
All the employers at C & I Beach Hotel come from the village where all the fish, meat, vegetables and fruit is purchased.
Mr Nilsson loves the sea, the beach and the fishermen out there and intends to carry some promotional campaign with fishermen on the beach to demonstrate a local ‘Maalu Kade’ with the added attraction of obtaining the portion of fish from the ‘Maalu Lalla’ and cooked on the beach itself to the individual taste.
The problems faced by C&I Beach Hotel is a saga never to be repeated and hopefully unlikely to happen again in the post-war arena where the authorities are speeding ahead to encourage new hotel facilities to open as tourists flow in from a trickle some years back. |
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