"The rebranding will take place from January 2010," general manager Mathew Thomas said.
"In two months 40 rooms will also be upgraded.
The piling for the 100 new rooms has already started."
The hotel is now classified 4-star in Sri Lanka but it will move to a higher classification with the completion the expansion program ends in two years, Thomas said. The Taj managed hotel is owned by Sri Lanka's Hirdramani group, which is funding the expansion.
The Taj Resorts Hotels and Palaces group now has 17 properties under the Gateway Hotel umbrella and 17 more under development, he said.
"It is a process that involes that involves huge amount of change of attitude, and traning," Ajoy Misra, senior vice president, sales and marketing of Taj said.
" We do not rebrand a hotel until it is ready to speak and breathe the brand.
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Sri Lanka's has seen a steep increase in tourist arrivals since the end of a 30-year war in 2010 and the Airport Garden Hotel is near the island's on