Novice o dobaviteljih
Šrilanka – Packer je rekel, da ni dobrodošel na Šrilanki
By Phil - 23. februarja 2015
Australian casino owner James Packer has been told he is unwelcome ‘in this lifetime’ in Sri Lanka by the country’s new Prime Minister.
Having withdrawn from plans to build a $350m luxury resort in Colombo, Mr. Packer’s Crown Resorts has been told by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to stay away.
He said: “Packer says he will not come. Who asked you to come? Please don’t come – not in this lifetime.”
The new government vetoed three casinos approved by the former government with Crown not willing to build the resort without a casino. The new government has also refused the five per cent tax rate that had been approved to Mr Packer. The deal would have seen Packer save up to $1bn in 10-year tax breaks.
Previous President Mahinda Rajapaksa wanted casinos in Colombo to boost tourism. They wanted to double the foreign tourist count to 2.5m by 2016. It had wanted to revamp an entire street along Lake Beira for new casinos, creating Sri Lanka’s own mini Vegas Strip. The plan was to offer 10-year tax breaks on income generated from visitors.
Crown je načrtoval gradnjo Crown Sri Lanka, ki se imenuje letovišče, ki ga je treba obiskati, in se nahaja ob jezeru Beira v okrožju letovišča Colombo. Objekt s 5 zvezdicami bi ponujal približno 450 sob in apartmajev, značilne kulinarične izkušnje in ponudbo za zabavo, prostore za konference in dogodke, igralne prostore, maloprodajne lokale in posebej zasnovano vodno atrakcijo.
John Keells Holdings, največji konglomerat na Šrilanki, ki kotira na borzi, je nameraval vložiti 650 milijonov dolarjev v drugo letovišče, kar je največja naložba domačega podjetja na Šrilanki. Letovišče, ki naj bi se odprlo leta 2018, bi vključevalo luksuzni hotel z 900 sobami, konferenčne prostore, nakupovalno središče, stanovanjska stanovanja, poslovni kompleks in igralnico.
Medtem ko je bil napredek skozi vse leto 2013 hiter, so načrti obstali zaradi nasprotovanja budističnih voditeljev zaradi zaskrbljenosti zaradi predlaganih davčnih olajšav za projekt.
