ITC has signed an agreement to obtain land to establish a luxury hotel in Colombo, the Sri Lankan Defence and Urban Development Secretary, Mr Gotabaya Rajapaksa, said.
Mr Rajapaksa, who was the chief guest at the launch of World Bank's South Asia Region Urbanisation Knowledge Platform here, said part of the prime land vacated by the Army headquarters has been handed over to Shangri-La, while the remaining was given to the ITC.
Initial reports had indicated that ITC India was not happy with the fact that the property was not sea-facing. With today's statement, Mr Rajapaksa has put to rest the uncertainty surrounding ITC foray into the Sri Lankan market.
Meanwhile, Shangri-La has already commenced construction of its two luxury hotels.
The chain has set up the Shangri-La Investments Lanka (Pvt) Ltd for the execution of the two projects.
The Colombo project, for which the chain had earlier purchased a six-acre defence headquarters property on the prime Galle Face area at a cost of $125 million, will feature a high-end mall, apartments, and 650 rooms.
The construction cost is projected to be about $300 million.