Sri Lanka, Thai hotel venture to build beach property

Nov 25, 2011 (LBO) - Thailand's Minor International is to build a 160-room beach hotel on Sri Lanka's south-west coast in a partnership with the island's Hemas Holdings group at a cost of 25 million US dollars.

Abbas Esufally, group director of Hemas Holdings, said Minor group which operates hotels under the Avani and Anantara brands was the first international hotel chain to enter the island after the end of its war.

The island has witnessed a tourism boom after the 30-year ethnic war ended in 2009, with arrivals up to Thursday hitting 750,000, the original annual target for 2011, up more than 20 percent from last year.

The tourism authorities have now raised the annual target for this year to 800,000 visitors.

Minor International chief executive Dilip Rajakarier said the group is working with Serendib Leisure on hotel ventures.

The new hotel planned to be built in 2013 will be next to an existing property, the Kani Lanka, in Kalutara, he told Vimasuma.

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The hotel will be built on 10 acres of land next to Kani Lanka in which Minor has an 80 percent stake and Serendib Leisure, the hotel arm of the Hemas group, has 20 percent.

"The new hotel will be opened in