July 7, 2011 (LBO) - Sri Lanka will build a new 'tourist city' in the Western coastal city of Katana north of the capital Colombo, which may draw 1.5 billion US dollars in foreign investments in its first phase alone, a government minister said. Sri Lanka's tourism development authority has also offered a series of islands off the Western coastal city of Puttalam for private investment. Land has also been offered in the east coast in Kuchchaveli.
The development will have four 5-star hotels with 2,300 rooms, an exhibition and convention centre and two shopping malls and be sited on a 80 hectare block of state land.
A firm called Asian Resorts & Consortium has been given approval by the cabinet of ministers to conduct a feasibility study.
Information minister Keheliya Rambukwella said it was probably a foreign firm, but exact details were not available with him at the time.
