Government calls bids for divestment of SriLankan Airlines

The Government on Tuesday called for bids to pre-quality for the divestment of national carrier SriLankan Airlines. The offer was made in a full page advertisement in a local newspaper.

The Government has also called for expressions of interest (EoI) for the divestment of Grand Hyatt Colombo (GHC) by selling shares of Canwill Holdings, the parent company of Sinolanka one of the preset majority stake holders of the unfinished 47 level skyscraper in Kollupitiya.

The due date for this submission of Expressions of Interest is 28th November 2023.

This was an uncompleted building even after spending a staggering Rs. 21.6 billion up to now, Finance Ministry sources said.

The total GHC project cost has been estimated at approximately US$302 million (Rs. 45.3 billion) excluding interest cost, CESS and NBT.

The divestiture will be completed through a two-stage competitive bidding process under the directions of State-Owned Enterprise Restructuring Unit.

The government will divest all or part of equity shareholding in Canwill, the parent company to Sinolanka Hotels and Spa (Pvt) Ltd (Sinolanka) and Helanco Hotels and Spa (Pvt) Ltd (Helanco).

The proposed property has a 47-story structure with 458 rooms and an additional 100 serviced apartments. The total built-up area in the extent of vast 1,340,562 square feet.

Canwill Holdings Ltd is a state-owned public enterprise set up by the former Rajapaksa regime with Rs. 18.5 billion in equity secured from its major shareholders Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation which has put Rs. 8.5 billion, and Litro Gas and the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) with Rs. 5 billion each.

Canwill Holdings has formed the subsidiary Sinolanka Hotel and Spa, which was implementing the Hyatt hotel project in Kollupitiya at that time. (Bandula)