Sri Lanka islet eyed by Canada firm for US$300mn leisure project

Dec 25, 2011 (LBO) - Sri Lanka is in talks with Sapphire Bay, a Canadian based leisure firm to develop an islet off the northwestern coast of the island in a 300 million dollar investment golf course and hotel development. Arrivals in the 11 months to November 2011 rose 33.1 percent from a year earlier, to 758,458 higher than the full year target of 750,000.

Sri Lanka has a received a detailed proposal to develop a part of the islet of Uchchimunai off Kalpitiya, an official source knowledgeable about the matter said.

The project involves building three hotels and a golf course on 400 acres of the 1,000 acre islet.

The project promoters have also proposed a community development project and a hotel school as part of a corporate social responsibility initiative linked to the project, the source said.

Sri Lanka offered 10 islets off Kalpitiya for development.

The state land is offered on long leases.

Tourism to the island has been booming after the end of a 30-year war.