HAYLEYS Leisure, part of Sri Lanka’s conglomerate Hayleys Group, is investing in a new US$65 million property in the Maldives and a cluster of leisure properties in Sri Lanka.
Lalin Samarawickrama, managing director of Hayleys Leisure, said the proposed five-star hotel in the Maldives will comprise 150 villas and is located within a 30-minute drive from the airport. Construction is expected to commence in January with an opening scheduled for 2018.
This is Hayleys’ first venture into the Maldives, putting it in direct competition with the likes of Aitken Spence Hotels and John Keells Holdings, Sri Lanka’s two largest conglomerates with sizable investments in the island chain.
In addition, Hayleys is investing in six tea plantation bungalows in Sri Lanka’s central hills while another hotel is being developed in the central town of Nuwara Eliya at a cost of 2.5 billion Sri Lankan rupees (US$18 million). Work on the hotel begins early next year.
Hayleys also plans to add 160 rooms to the 229-key The Kingsbury Hotel in Colombo and will manage a new 66-unit apartment complex in the capital city in October 2015.
