Sri Lanka to make Dutch Fort admin office a tourist attraction

Apr 05, 2012 (LBO) - An government administration building inside a 17th century Dutch Fort in Sri Lanka's south will be turned into a museum and part of its will be commercially developed as a tourist attraction, a minister said.







The Galle Dutch Fort is a UNESCO world heritage site.

The cabinet of ministers had decided to give the building to Sri Lanka's urban development agency to renovate, minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardene said.

Abeywardene said a section will be leased out for commercial purposes.

"There is no decision to make it a hotel but it will be more, like the Old Dutch Hospital in Colombo," he said.

In the Dutch Hospital has been leased to operators of high end restaurants and tourist shops.