Tallest Tower in Sri Lanka Throws Open Its Doors to Tourists – By Anusha Ondaatjie and Asantha Sirimanne
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Lotus Tower aiming for 1.1 billion rupees in revenue by 2024
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Chinese debt used for project started in Mahinda Rajapaksa era
Source : bloomberg
A 350-meter tall China-funded tower will be the main attraction for Sri Lanka to lure tourists to the bankrupt country.
Shaped like a gigantic long-stemmed lotus, the structure is the tallest in the South Asian nation. It opened to the public on Thursday, selling tickets to an observation deck with 360-degree views of the city and the Indian Ocean. When fully occupied, the venue will have shops, host weddings and boast a fine dining rotating restaurant on the bud of the flower.
“This will be the tourism and entertainment hub of Colombo,” said Prasad Samarasinghe, chief executive officer of state-run Colombo Lotus Tower Management Co., which is overseeing the building’s operations. “We have developed a business model to earn enough money for operations and maintenance of the tower so that it is not a burden to the government.”
Operators are forecasting 1.1 billion rupees ($3 million) of revenue by 2024, against a total construction cost of $113 million following repeated delays. Building began in 2012 with a loan from China’s Exim Bank, which exposed it to criticism of being a vanity project, one of the many so-called white elephants commissioned during the tenure of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, whose family has since been ousted from several government posts.
