JETWING Hotels, Sri Lanka’s third largest hotel operator, is planning to add 720 rooms to its current stock of 530, through the construction of eight properties over the next few years.
The company, with 12 properties under its portfolio, is investing a total of eight billion rupees (US$72 million) on its upcoming projects, which will be branded under a new cluster called Jetwing Symphony. Half of this investment will come from the public sale of company shares, a move which is estimated to reap US$36 million.
Construction on four four- to five-star properties will begin over the next three to six months. This includes an 83-room boutique hotel in Colombo, the 98-room Yala Safari hotel being rebuilt in the country’s south, and hotels in Kandy and Jaffna in the north. According to Jetwing chairman, Hiran Cooray, these properties will open in late 2012 or early 2013.
Also on the cards are three hotels in Trincomalee and Arugam Bay on the east coast, and one in Dambulla in the north central region.
Meanwhile, Jetwing Hotels last week reopened Jetwing Blue (formerly Blue Oceanic) in Negombo, after a US$8 million refurbishment (TTG Asia e-Daily, April 1).
