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| Sunday, 27 April 2003 |
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| News Business Features Editorial
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Theme park, golf course mooted by JAYAMPATHY JAYASINGHE A feasibility study is being done to set up a theme park and a 36-hole golf course to lure high-spending foreign tourists to Sri Lanka. The brains behind the project is one time Casino King in Sri Lanka and high flyer, Joe Sim who is back in the island at the invitation of the Government to promote business and tourism in a big way. Sim spelt out several plans to revive the tourism industry plagued by several years of civil war. He told a media conference in Colombo last week that he was planning to set up a theme park and a golf course with 18-36 holes to lure high spending tourists. He said he was looking at the prospect of setting up the theme park and the golf course under terms and conditions of the Board of Investment. The project will occupy 350 acres with an investment of US$ 500-600 million. Asked whether he would set up a casino in the theme park, Sim replied that the casino would be part of the theme park which would contain 20 or more restaurants, shopping malls and a spa. Soodisak Mangornchal, General Manager of Sports InformationMarketing Ltd of Thailand said he was optimistic that Sri Lanka would benefit from tourism due to its proximity to Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia. They were looking at several locations in Sri Lanka to build the theme park and the golf course. Sim launched his leisure travel and jewellery business almost two decades ago when he operated five international standard casinos in Colombo. He also represented Sri Lanka in tourism promotional campaigns in Singapore such as the cultural road show and the Miss Tourism contest. A gifted entrepreneur, he provided jobs to more than 1,500 locals in his businesses. However, his businesses were shut down in 1990 after an official power struggle. Thereafter he ventured into the real estate and travel business in Thailand. |
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